Fate: Second Chance
by EtherealPrincess63
Summary: Because fate had always hated Team Seven. And no matter what they do, they cannot escape. But one thing led to another, one of them came back in time to save everyone else, with the help of someone she least expected. (In which Haruno Sakura goes back in time with the help of the Rabbit Goddess of the Moon, Otsusuki Kaguya. Or... did she?)
1. Fate: Second Chance: Prologue

**Hi guys, I'm new to this site as a writer so please bear with me. This is my first story so I apologize in advance for any errors that you may find.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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"You may not know it, but Fate has always hated Team Seven more than any other. And sometimes, I think we were just cursed. A curse never missing a generation.

Haven't you noticed? Every single member of Team Seven has a counter part on every generation, starting from the Sannins. How Naruto is like Obito and Jiraiya- sama. How Sasuke is just like Kakashi- sensei and Orochimaru. And how I was just like Rin and Tsunade- shishou.

It's like, everyone of us is reincarnated in each other. Reincarnated to royally mess up, every single time.

But you can't blame us, you know. Even if we should have known from the very beginning. Now, we're suffering the consequences of our actions. Their actions.

Because Team Seven was not a match made in heaven. It was a match made in hell. A disaster waiting to happen. They should have known. They should have learned from the previous generations.

But no. They never learn. They never do. Now, it's us that suffering from the curse that is Fate. And there's no escape.

Or so they thought. Because even if I die, I won't give up. Even if they did, I won't. There has to be some way. Even if it takes me a thousand life times, I'll try and try and try.

I can't give up on us. I can never do. They're the only ones left to me. My only family. My light in darkness. My only hope through despair. My life in death.

Funny though, cause they're the reason I'm dead. But it was my choice. So i will do everything in my power to make this, us, better.

Nothing can stop me from preventing this disaster from happening. not time, destiny nor can fate. And I, Sakura Haruno, sole female member of the current generation of Team Seven, swear that to my grave. I will save Team Seven, no matter what."

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**(edited: 11/04/20) Hey, guest Zestway, I can't reply to your review because you are registered as a guest. I won't force you to read this story, because it is your choice, but I just want to tell you that this is not your normal time travel story. Nope, there are too much cliché in the first few chapters to do that. With that said, I hope you guys give this story a chance, and thanks for stopping by!**


	2. Chapter 1: Future Past

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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**Sakura's POV**

The war has ended and everything was a wreck. I walked through the lands of what used to be the Fire Country. The war against the Akatsuki, Madara, the Ten- tailed beast and the Rabbit Goddess of the Moon, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, has taken a toll on everyone and has destroyed almost every villages. Even the Five Great Hidden Villages did not escape the wrath of our enemies.

Victory had been ours. Naruto convinced Obito Uchiha to ally with us and together, we defeated Kaguya. I landed the finishing blow as Naruto and Sasuke used the chakra that Hagoromo Otsusuki granted them to reseal the goddess back to the moon. After that, we were thrown out of her dimension.

We claimed the victory as the goddess and the Ten- tailed beast was sealed. The reincarnated kages and other shinobis returned to the afterlife. But alas, in this world, there is no victory without the price to pay.

And everyone payed that price. Everyone lost their loved ones, family, children, husbands or wives, siblings, friends or lovers. We had lost Neji, Inoiji, Ino's father, Shikaku, Shikamaru's father and everyone in the base.

I too, lost my parents as they were in the base that time. It was painful, seeing everyone like this. But as I watch as everyone help each other out. Others carrying injured or the dead bodies of their comrades, a bittersweet smile bloomed on my face.

There is hope. Everyone will cope up with the lost, we just need time. After all, only time can heal, right?

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I ran through the forest as fast as I can. I heard from a few shinobis that Sasuke and Naruto were going to the Valley of End to settle their long rivalry or what ever it is that they are fighting about, after Sasuke tried to leave again. Immediately, I ran after them, hoping I'm not too late. My instinct tells me that it is not going to end well. And my instinct is never wrong.

A few minutes later, I am still in the forest but I can already feel their chakra signatures. It felt as if their chakra is lashing out, like they're using strong jutsus. I fastened my place until eventually, I reached the entrance of the Valley.

I pushed more chakra to my feet as a feeling of dread washed over me. As I neared the center of the Valley, I immediately saw two silhouette away from each other. My eyes widened as I recognize them as Naruto and Sasuke.

I froze in my place with my eyes wide and my heart racing. The sound of birds chirping filled the howling and wildly thrashing air due to the jutsus of my teammates, which I recognize as the Chidori and the Rasengan.

'_They're gonna kill each other!' _my mind screamed at me. Just like before, but this time, there was no Kakashi- sensei to hold them back. Just them and the once again, useless me.

My eyes narrowed. No, not again. I will never be useless again. Not anymore. My mind went blank. And before my brain can even process what I was doing, my body sprang into action.

I ran in between them before their attack can even reach each other. I felt the strength of the jutsus tear of my flesh and break my bones. A gasp and a silent cry tore through my lips. My breath hitched as an immense pain filled my body, and then, nothing. My body felt numb.

Medical chakra flooded my body as it desperately tries to heal me. But even the great Creation Rebirth did nothing to regenerate or heal my body. The strength of two powerful jutsus combined was just too much.

I looked at the person on front of me. Sasuke. His eyes were wide and his skin is paler than usual. My gaze fell down to his hand and I saw that it was in the left part of my chest, where my heart is.

So that means Naruto is behind me. It seems that I always faced my back on Naruto. I tried to smile at him, even though his hand was on my abdomen. Hours seems to pass before they retracted their hand from me while I fell down. Thankfully, Naruto was able to catch me. He always does. Whenever I fall he always picks me right back up.

He gently layed me down on the ground. I stared at his face as tears started to stream down his cheeks. Sasuke stood in front of us, his hands clenched at his sides while his bangs covered his eyes. I smiled at them.

"I-it's o-okay, guys. I-it's n-not yo-your fa-ult. But p-please don't f-f-fight an-anymore." I tried to speak more but I only succeeded in coughing out blood. It seems that blood entered my lungs.

Memories of the past played out in my mind. When we were nothing but a child. When we were young and innocent, untainted by the war, deaths, chaos and destruction of this world. When everything was still peaceful and right. When we can still be carefree. When we still had no idea what death is, or how to kill.

What ifs, what would have, if only and what could've been. Those thoughts entered my mind. _If only... then maybe..._

_'If only Kakashi- sensei wasn't so into his past and moved on. If only he stopped blaming himself for the lost that was inevitable. If only he stopped slowly killing himself in guilt for something that he didn't do, then maybe he would've been a better teacher to us._

_If only Sasuke didn't lose his family. If only he wasn't so obsessed in killing his brother. If only he didn't drown himself in the path of revenge. Then maybe he wouldn't leave the village. Maybe he would've noticed us and payed more attention to the bonds that were created. Maybe he wouldn't have pushed us away._

_If only Naruto didn't lose his family so early, before he even got the chance to remember their face or create memories with them. If only he had the attention he yearned and deserved, then maybe he wouldn't have that rivalry with Sasuke. Maybe he wouldn't seek so much attention. Maybe he could have had a better start._

_And if only I wasn't so useless. If only I wasn't a fan girl and focused more on my training. Maybe if I didn't have that rivalry with Ino. Maybe if I payed more attention to Naruto and trained more instead of fussing about my appearance and asking Sasuke out on a date, then maybe I could've helped them more. Maybe I could've been more useful._

_If only Team Seven didn't have such a broken start, then maybe we wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe our future would have been more peaceful. Maybe all of this would have been prevented.'_

Naruto wailed as my breath and heart beat slowed while Sasuke fell to his knees. My vision blurred as dark spots started to appear. Then with one last breath, I held both of their arms in mine. One last time.

_'And maybe, just maybe, we can and may have that future that we deserved. If only fate would allow us to have a second chance. Just this once.'_

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**Normal POV**

Naruto cried as he tried to wake their fallen teammate up. Tears fell down on his face to Sakura's shirt as he wailed. Sasuke kneeled beside them. Their hands still in the pinkette's grasp.

It was then that they realized, Sakura did it for them. To stop them from fighting each other any longer. Just like what she did, five years ago, on the Academy roof.

She loved them so much that she would give her life just to end their childish fights. She loved them that much.

That realization only made them both cry harder.

**—– In an unknown place –—**

A beautiful woman with long silver hair dressed in an elegant white dress stared at the glass mirror. Her porcelain skin was illuminated by the light in a single candle in the dimly lit room. Her crystal blue eyes filled with understanding and a smile graced her heart- shaped face as her gazed lingered on the mirror much longer.

But instead of her reflection, the mirror showed three ninjas. A dead kunoichi and two grieving shinobis on the Valley of End. Her gaze lingered in the pink- haired kunoichi much longer before she closed her eyes. Her smile widening.

**"Alright, Sakura Haruno. A second chance. One more time. I owe you that. Your second chance is yours. Do not let it slip past your grasp."** The woman spoke before she touched the mirror and disappeared into the darkness.

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**Normal POV**

Sakura opened her eyes to see a pink ceiling. 'I'm gonna kill Naruto for painting my ceiling pink.' she thought. Letting out a sigh, she tried to sit up in her bed. (Keyword: tried)

She raised an elegant eyebrow at that. Weird, her body finds it hard to sit up in bed. Then, realization hit her. Her eyes widened and her heart beat fastened.

"I-I. No way. I-I'm supposed to be d-dead." Her breathing fastened as she was hyperventilating.

"I'm supposed to be dead! How am I still alive?" She clutched her hair and abruptly freeze. She had a long hair!

Does that mean that she stayed in her bed or in the hospital for so long that it eventually grew? Had she been unconscious for that long? Did she survived the attacks?

She scrambled out of her bed as she ran to the mirror, which was a lot larger than she remembered. at her reflection. She was small! She...

"I'm a child.." Sakura whispered. "No way! It can't be." She looked around her room to see everything in the color of pink.

Her bed was pink, her sheets, her vanity, her walls. Everything. She even had that chest where her toys were.

"Am I back in the past?" she asked herself quietly. But the question is, how? Just then, a feminine voice rang in her head.

**"Alright, Sakura Haruno. A second chance. One more time. I owe you that. Your second chance is yours. Do not let it slip past your grasp.''** the voice whispered before it faded.

A smile slowly bloomed out of Sakura's face as she remembered her last thought.

_'And maybe, just maybe, we can and may have that future that we deserved. If only fate would allow us to have a second chance. Just this once.'_

Fate had answered her prayers. They can have a new start. It seems that fate was not as cruel as they thought she was. And she was lucky to have a second chance. Now, she can make everything better.

She will fix this. And she will not let this second chance slip past her grasp. Not anymore.


	3. Chapter 2: Earlier than Planned

**Normal POV**  
Sakura quickly returned to her senses and glanced at the clock.

'4:53 am.' She was so shocked about this that she didn't even noticed that it was still dark outside. But who wouldn't. She just found out that she was sent back to the past.

Sakura blinked. She's really in the past? She glanced at the mirror in front of her. A pink- haired, emerald- eyed, four- year- old looked back at her. Huh. She surveyed her room. The room was scarily full of pink things and they're larger than she remembered. Her vision passed her nightstand before returning her gaze to the said object.

There, on top of the nightstand, just beside the alarm clock of hers was a long, red ribbon. A nostalgic smile appeared in the pinkette's porcelain, young face as she remembered her blonde- haired, blue- eyed best friend. The last time she saw her was when she returned to the once Konohagakure and found her mourning for her father's death. She sympathizes with the blonde, for she too had lost her parents.

She sighed. She really miss that girl. She was the gossip queen, no information can hide from her. And even though they were opposite in many ways, they were still the best of friends. Speaking of best friends, she still had to find her other blonde- haired, blue-eyed male best friend.

The last time she saw him was when he and Sasuke had their 'final battle' against each other. She didn't even have time to look at his face one last time before she left the living world. Memories of her and Naruto flashed in her mind and she can't help the few tears that fell from her eyes. She shook her head, she was threading on memory lane again.

Sakura sighed. As much as she want to celebrate her return, she needed to plan things out to avoid messing things up. Though, with her luck, she was probably bound to screw up sooner or later. She sat up in her bed and began to think.

First, she needed to find Naruto. Her ramen lover best friend was probably still at the orphanage this time around. But the sooner she find him, the better. Gosh, Kami knows how much the blonde needed the company, attention and love he could get. Her best friend didn't deserve any of this. She unconsciously growled at the thought of the villagers doing evil things at the innocent boy. Anyway.

Next, she needed to locate Sasuke. She needed to make sure he doesn't leave the village to get revenge on his brother. Make sure he didn't become what he was before. And by that, she meant preventing the Uchiha massacre and Uchiha Itachi from joining the Akatsuki.

Which extends to getting rid of Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru. Those bastards. She need to make sure that old fart Danzo can't put his hands on Itachi. She can either take care of him herself or tell someone of his schemes without revealing her identity. Then make sure he never sees the light of another day. But due to her body being that of a four- year- old kid, she was sure she can't take him out herself, so she must resort to the latter of the options. Or wait for a few more years till she gets used to her new and young body and prepared herself.

As for Orochimaru, as far as Sakura still remember, he will attack Konoha and place the Heaven's Cursed Seal on Sasuke on the Chuunin Exams. She need to warn the Hokage about him as soon as possible. But she can't reveal her identity to him or to anyone. If anyone knows that she came from the future, who knows what they will do just to get the very dangerous information that she possess.

Before that, maybe she can get Tsunade- shishou and Shizune- nee- chan back to the village earlier than that. Then, they can probably prevent the death of the Third on the hands of the Snake Sannin. She needed to make sure she and her team is ready for that.

Then, when all of that is done, she can deal will their biggest enemy. The Akatsuki. She needed a plan to make sure she gets to make them 'recruit her forcefully'. Then, maybe she can deal with them. Don't get her wrong, she's no Naruto, but she can have a way with her words when she wanted to. She just have to convince them to stop their twisted plan of bringing world peace and get them to ally with the Elemental Nations. Which will be hard, considering the crimes they are about to make.

She knows she can't prevent the creation of the organization but she can atleast lead them to the right path that she know. If that plan of hers didn't work, then she will just eradicate the Akatsuki and cease their existence. With some help from others, of course. Or in Hidan and Kakuzu's case, decapitate them, chop their body into tiny pieces and then bury them to some place that no one can ever find them. Or maybe just in her backyard, atleast there she can watch them out, right? Kami knows that if that Zombie Duo are somehow revived, she will throw a giant tantrum. And the sight is never pretty whenever she did that.

Wow, she didn't know she was that sadistic. She didn't know she was sadistic at all. Oh well.

But before she did any of those eradication plan of hers, she needs a plan to make sure Team Seven does happen. The pinkette sighed and layed on her bed. Just making a plan on her head already tired her out. Her four- year- old body can't keep up with her seventeen- year- old mind.

She needs to train her body. Sakura felt her eyelids starting to get heavy and she knew her body can't fight off the sleep anymore. If. _**If**_ she woke up, she'll continue her plan of preventing the Fourth Shinobi World War from happening. And save her team from their cruel fate. And make sure they experience the childhood they deserved. After all, their childhood is the reason of all of their sufferings, right? And with that last thought of hers, Sakura drifted off in a dreamless slumber.

"-cchan. Sacchan. Sacchan, wake up. Come on, sleepy head, rise and shine." An angelic and feminine voice rang in her head. It sounds familiar but she can't remember who that voice belongs to. Her eyes snapped open when she recognized it to be her mother's.

Immediately, she sat up in her bed and stared at her mother, eyes wide. She felt a prickly sensation in her eyes and something sliding down her cheeks. Only then that she realized she was crying. Her mother looked at her lovingly and brushed up her bangs away from her face.

"Hush, now. Don't cry now, princess. Come on. Was it a nightmare?" Her mother ask worriedly. Sakura could only nod. Her mother hugged her tightly, before patting her head.

Sakura continued to sob as her mother held her in a tight embrace. Memories of their last time together played in her mind, before shifting off to the time when she heard about the attack at the Shinobi Alliance base. When she received the news about the death of her parents.

She took in a deep breath as she steeled herself. No, she can't let that happen again. She won't. This time, she will make sure they survived.

A few seconds later and Sakura found herself apologizing at her mother for crying over a nightmare, telling her that she was a big girl now, and that big girls don't cry. Her mother laughed it off, telling her that she was only four and that it's normal for kids to have nightmares. Soon, her mother helped her get ready for the day.

-A few minutes later-

Sakura almost immediately regretted her decision of letting her mother dress her. She looked the mirror in utter disbelief and horror. Her mother had decided to dress her in a pink and very frilly dress.

It stopped a few inches below her knee with a couple layers of white lace. It was sleeveless with a Sakura flower embroided into the left part of the dress. The pinkette sighed and faced her mother as the older woman gushed about how cute her daughter was.

'And to think that my mother is a jounin.' The pinkette shook her head as she tried to convince her mother to change her very uncomfortable clothes.

"Mommy, can I change my clothes please? It's making me feel uncomfortable." Sakura asked her mother sweetly. She knew her mother could not say no to her but she needed to make sure she really takes this hideous thing of a dress off her person. So, she did what every reasonable toddler would do, their secret weapon.

The puppy dog eyes. Yes people, the puppy dog eyes. Sakura grinned as the last of her mother's defenses fell and squealed at her cuteness. In the end, Sakura wore a red, short- sleeved shirt with the Haruno clan crest at the back. And a black shorts that stopped at her knee with black sandals.

After getting ready, Mebuki and Sakura headed downstairs where the head of the family sat at the dining table, reading a newspaper. Sakura grinned at the sight of her father before sprinting at the red head.

"Daddyyyy!" Kizashi placed his newspaper down before scooping the pinkette in his arms and raised her high. The action earned a giggle from Sakura. Mebuki shooked her head at the duo before asking her husband to place their daughter down.

Soon, the family sat around the table and ate. They conversed rather loudly while eating, talking about random things until Sakura brought out a topic.

"Mommy, Daddy, I want to be a ninja. Can I be like you? Please?" Her parents was taken aback by her sudden proclamation. Even Sakura was shocked at her actions.

Well, it was earlier than she had planned. Actually, she didn't plan it at all. But if she wants all of her plans to set into action, she needed to let her parents know that she wants to be a kunoichi.

Their reaction to this didn't upset her because not a minute later, her mother was cheering on her, telling her that she will make a great kunoichi. Her father grinning at her saying that they will train her with everything they've got. A few minutes later and they finished their breakfast.

Sakura, being the clever child she is, took the opportunity to ask her parents if she could roam around. And being the oblivious, but not-so-oblivious parents they are, they immediately agreed. Though, not knowing the real reasons of their daughter for the request. The pinkette promised to be back before it gets dark and went in her way.

The sun was up in the sky, the morning breeze blew, making the plants dance with it. The stalls were already open and their owners started calling out to customers to try out their products. The sound of children's laughter filled the air as they carelessly play around with their friends. This was the scene that little Sakura walked up to when she roamed the village.

A sense of nostalgia hit her as she glanced around. Everything seems so right. Like there's no wrong in the world. Buildings stands tall. The Hokage Mountain raised high in the sky, tall and proud.

Unlike after the war. Everything was destroyed. Turned into rubble. The village was unrecognizable after the war. The pinkette shook her head to erase all the negative thoughts. She didn't even noticed that she was already on the park.

She turned and saw children running around, playing tag. Others were in the slide while some played in the sand box. Sakura noticed that no one was playing in the swing except for a small child. The boy was probably her age, if not, younger.

He was all alone in the swing with a sad expreasion on his face. Sakura felt a pang of sadness in her heart. A smile bloomed in her face as she approached the young boy.

"Hey there. Do you need someone to push you?" The young Sakura asked. The boy looked at her warily. Distrust in his eyes.

"Are you here to make fun of me too?!" He pointed at her as he stood up. Sakura was shocked at his outburst before she shook her head, determination shining in her eyes.

"No, I just wanna play with you. The other kids were too busy playing with the others, they don't pay attention to me." The pinkette explained and bowed her head slightly. Now, it was the boy's turn to be shocked.

"You sure it's not a prank?" The boy asked. Sakura shook her head and the boy beamed at her. "Alright then!"

"Oh, I forgot. I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura." The pinkette held her hand in front of her and the boy took it in his tanned hands.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" The blonde said as they shook their hands.


	4. Chapter 3: Universal Thing

**Normal POV**

"Oh, I forgot. I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura." The pinkette held her hand in front of her and the boy took it in his tanned hands.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" The blonde said as they shook their hands. Sakura beamed at the hyper blonde and went behind him.

"Alright, Naruto. Hang on tight." Sakura pushed the swing as Naruto let out a full blown laugh. The pinkette let out a giggle herself as she heard his laughter.

'At least now, his got a friend with him this time around.' The rosette thought.

-A few minutes later-

The duo sat beneath a cherry blossom tree as Naruto continued to ramble on and on about ramen.

"And then the old man said that he'll buy me ramen when I learned how to read and write." At this, the blonde looked down and sighed.

"But I still don't know how to read or write! What am I gonna do, Sakura-chan?" The blonde panicked, clearly worried about the ramen. The pinkette shook her head. Naruto will always be Naruto, and she can't have him any other way.

"How about I teach you then?" Sakura suggested. The blonde's face lightened up at this.

"Really, Sakura-chan? You'd do that for me?" Naruto bounced up and down. Sakura nodded and giggled at the blonde's antics.

"Of course, after all, you are my best friend." Naruto couldn't help the tears of joy that fell from his eyes.

He didn't have any friend before because the villagers despise him for the reason he didn't know. He was practically used to it. But he can't help but feel sad and lonely because the only people who ever cared about him was the old man, then old man Teuchi from Ichiraku and his daughter, Ayame-nee.

But here she was, a kid his age whom he didn't even met before until a few minutes later, declaring that he was her best friend. So he only did what his mind and heart had told him to do. He tackled her into a hug as he cried. She didn't stiffen in his touch, instead, she returned his hug whole heartedly.

Sakura was shocked when the blonde cried and tackled her into a hug. She smiled sadly and returned his hug whole heartedly.

'I should've done this before. I shouldn't have ignored you. I'm so sorry.' Sakura couldn't help but let out a few tears. But she let out a chuckle as Naruto thanked her for being his friend.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Thank you for being my friend. I thought that you would avoid me just like the others but you became my friend. Thank you, Sakura-chan. Thank you, thank you, thank you." All the while, Sakura tightened her hug at the blonde.

"Naruto, I don't know why the others hate you but let me tell this to you. I would never, ever get mad at you. You deserve this friendship as much as other kids do. And please remember this, you will always be my best friend, no matter what."

This only made Naruto cry harder but a few minutes later and they composed themselves. They played with each other and all the while ignoring the glares being sent Naruto's way. They were having so much fun and before they knew it, it was already lunch time. They were reminded of this when Naruto's tummy let out a rumble. This earned a chuckle from the rosette and a blush from the blonde.

"Come on, let's get some lunch. My treat." Sakura said and the blonde grinned. "Wanna have some ramen?" And if possible, the hyper blonde's grinned grew wider making Sakura mirror his grin with one of her own.

"Alright!" The blonde pumped his fist in the air and grabbed the pinkette's hands in his own. "Come on, Sakura-chan! Ramen, here we go!" The duo's laughter rang in the streets as they ran all the way to a very familiar ramen stand. Its large sign with the words 'Ichiraku Ramen' welcomed her.

An old man in the stand smiled as he caught sight of the orange wearing blonde. His smile widened as he saw a pink haired girl running and laughing with the young Uzumaki. He immediately greeted the two as they neared his shop.

"Hello, Naruto. Nice to see you're back." Teuchi greeted as the blonde grinned. "Course, old man."

"Mind introducing me to your friend?" The pinkette grinned. "Oh, this is Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan, this is old man Teuchi."

"Nice to meet you, Teuchi-san." Sakura greeted and bowed her head slightly. "Likewise, Sakura-chan. Oh, and call me Ojii-san."

"Of course, Ojii-san." The old man laughed and began to take their orders. "The usual Naruto?" The stall owner asked the obnoxious blonde.

"Yup! How about you, Sakura- chan?" Naruto turned to his female companion. "I'll have miso ramen, please." The young girl answered. Nodding his head, the old man went deeper into the stall to make their orders.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura were caught up in their conversation. That is until Sakura asked a question that made Naruto unusually quiet.

"Naruto, why do the villagers glare at you everytime they see you?" Sakura asked her younger companion.

Even though the time traveler already knew the real reason, she needs to ask Naruto why and pretend that she doesn't know. She needed to make sure he knows that he can count on her when he needs her, even though it breaks her heart to do so.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan. They've been treating me like this as long I can't remember." The blonde answered solemnly.

"You mean as long as you can remember." The pinkette corrected Naruto immediately. "Yeah, that."

"And that is why I will become Hokage, to suprass all the other ones. So that the village will recognize and respect me, dattebayo!" He puffed out his chest with pride. "You mean surpass."

"Yeah, dattebayo!"

"Well, Naruto. When you become Hokage, I'll he your Head Medic and your assistant. Then you'll be like, 'Sakura-chan! Bring me ten bowls of ramen.' Then I'll be like 'Yes, Hokage-sama. Would you like a big bowl?' Then you'll be like 'Yeah, Sakura-chan. With extra toppings.' Because you won't be able to get out of your office because of your paperwork."

Both burst out laughing at Sakura's joke. Soon enough, their order of ramen arrived. Without a second to spare, Naruto dug in on his food, scarfing down his ramen. Sakura laughed at his antics and began eating at a much slower pace.

While Sakura was eating, Naruto glanced at the pinkette beside him. He didn't know why but he felt as if he could trust her. That he can tell her all his problems and she won't judge him, that she won't hate him, unlike the others.

It must have been because she said that she would never ever be mad at him. Or maybe because she approached him and played with him when others didn't. Or maybe because she declared that he was her best friend. Maybe it was because she said when, and not if, and didn't laugh at him when he said his dream was to become the best Hokage. But whatever the reason is, it made him trust her. And besides, he didn't mind being her best friend. He smiled and continued to eat his ramen.

A few minutes later, Naruto was already on his fifteenth bowl while Sakura was on her third. Finishing their lunch, Sakura was about to pay for their meal when the old man stopped her.

"Don't worry about it kid, it's on the house. Besides, it's the first time the kid brought a friend with him." The old man smiled at them. The children returned this with a full blown grin and a thank you.

"Thank you, Ojii-san." Sakura bowed. "See ya later, Teuchi-jii." Naruto said and waves goodbye to the kind man before going on their merry way.

Naruto suggested that they return to the playground only for Sakura to decline.

"It's too hot to the playground right now, Naruto. The sun is high up in the sky. See?" True to the pinkette's words, it was afternoon and the sun is high up in the sky. Naruto pouted cutely making Sakura pinch his cheeks.

"Oww, oww oww oww. Ouch, Sakura-chaaaan~" The blonde whined. Sakura giggled and let go of his cheeks.

"Come on, Naruto. I have a better idea. Do you have any toys?" The short blonde scratched his cheek and blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I don't have any." Sakura shook her head and grabbed the younger boy's hand in her own. She dragged him to the streets and despite Naruto's protest, Sakura never let the blonde's hand go. They continued to walk until they stopped at a toy store.

The duo entered the toy shop, though Naruto, reluctantly. They stopped at the aisle for stuffed toys.

"Go on, Naruto. Pick any thing you like. As many as you want." The rosette urged him. Naruto fidget in front of the girl. He seemed reluctant to do so.

"B-but. U-uhm. Well, Sakura- chan. You see. They don't like me in here. They kept on whispering that I am a demon. A fox, a monster." Naruto clenched his fist. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes but he held them back.

Sakura's heart ached at this. So, she pulled the blonde into a hug and whispered sweet nothings into his ear, reassuring him that she would protect him from them. Slowly, the blonde let go from the embrace and flashed a grin.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. You're the best."

"Anything for you, Naruto."

So, the next thirty minutes was spent with Naruto and Sakura looking for toys. In the end, Naruto chose an orange stuffed toy fox, a blue bunny, a brown teddy bear, and a white monkey. Sakura on the other hand, chose a white teddy bear, a white stuffed toy bunny, a brown stuffed puppy, and a snow white wolf.

Grinning, the two went on the line and waited for their turn. Sakura noticed the glares being sent on their way, specifically, on Naruto's. The glares were accompanied by whispers that if not stopped by Naruto, Sakura would've charged at the gossiping women. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long before it was their turn to pay.

Smiling at the counter, Sakura took all of the toys they want to buy and handed it to the cashier, though, with effort due to her short height. The woman on the counter smiled at them before her eyes turned on her blonde companion. Immediately, they turned icy cold and anger replaced the woman's features.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?! Didn't I told not to return?! You even forced a sweet innocent girl like her to be with you! Get out of my shop!"

Sakura looked at the woman shocked. She turned to see Naruto with tears at the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall. She stepped closer to him but he stepped back.

"No, Sakura-chan. It's alright. I'll just go outside." With that, the blonde ran off outside the store before Sakura can even speak. She turned to the owner whose emotions immediately shift from angry to kind, making Sakura cringe with disgust.

"You can take this toys with you now, honey. No need to pay for those, it's on the house. Sorry for earlier. Go on, now." Sakura could only nod and took the toys with her, muttering a soft 'thank you'. But on the inside, she was boiling with anger.

Sakura immediately ran after the blonde. Stopping just a few inches away from him. She dragged him in the shady part of the park and began to comfort him.

"It's okay, Naruto. She's wrong. You didn't force me, I'm the one who approached you, right? I want to become your friend." Sakura said softly as the blonde wiped out his tears.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. I'm used to it. It's okay."

"No it's not!" Naruto flinched, shocked by Sakura's sudden outburst. "Don't let them just bully you. You're a sweet child. Yes, you can be loud sometimes, and like you said before, you love pranks. But I never thought they would take it that badly. I mean, there are others out there who do bad things but they didn't hate them. Don't let them be unfair to you. You don't deserved this." Sakura's voice softened, just barely above a whisper.

Naruto looked down, thinking his only friend is mad at him. The other four-year-old must have sensed this because the next thing he knew, he was pulled into a hug by the pinkette. And once again, she reassured him that she's not mad and that she will protect him.

\- Thirty minutes later-

After the incident, Naruto and Sakura can be found playing in the sand box. Many children were still playing in the park but they chose to avoid the pinkette and the blonde. (For obvious reasons that only us and Sakura knows. It's just so sad. Anyway.)

Though, only the two of them are playing with each other, they are both happy and having fun. Naruto and Sakura were making a big sand castle when it happened.

A flying ball hit the back of the poor pinkette's head, making her fall to the sand box, face first. Sakura, being four-year-old in body, can't help but cry out. Sand was in her eyes making her cry louder. All of the other kids' attention was on the duo. Not a second later, two children approached them. The other, older than the kid beside him.

The younger of the two spoke, his head in a bow. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you with the ball. I-it was an accident." The boy said, his face red with embarrassment.

"You! How dare you hit Sakura-chan with the ball, dattebayo?!" Naruto yelled at the boy who apologized. Meanwhile, Sakura was crying on the outside, but on the inside, she was freaking out.

She didn't expect to meet them both on her first day. And her plans still have a lot of holes that can only lead to trouble. Calming herself, she wiped out all her tears and sniffed.

"I-it's okay. The sand just got into my eyes." Sakura said to both of them, rubbing the sand off of her eyes. The boy from earlier brightened up at this while Naruto huffed, mumbling to himself. Sakura giggled at the blonde's antics. The older of the two newcomers from earlier watch the scene unfold with amusement in his eyes. The pinkette turned to the boy and held out her hand, much like what she did to the blonde before.

"Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura." The boy took her hand in his pale ones and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Uchiha Sasuke and this is my older brother, Itachi." Said boy inclined his head as a sign of greeting and took the pinkette's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura-san. I apologize for what happened." The long haired nine-year-old said. Sakura shook her head, saying that it is alright. She then turned to her companion, who had his arms crossed in his chest.

"Go on." Sakura encouraged and with a huff, the blonde did what he was asked.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" Sakura shook her head and turned her attention to the siblings.

"Do you want to play with us?" The pinkette asked. Sasuke turned to his brother who nodded his head and walked away slowly. "I'll pick you up before it gets dark, otouto." Itachi called out and continued on his way.

The trio played in the sand box making sand castles until Sakura pointed something out.

"Wow, Sasuke. Your sand castle looks bigger." Sasuke grinned at her and stuck his tongue out at Naruto. The blonde huffed and got to work, making his sand castle bigger than the raven haired boy.

"Wow, Naruto. Now yours looks bigger." Sakura cheered again, making Naruto stick out his tongue at Sasuke who glared at him.

This continued on for a few minutes all the while, Sakura was in deep thought. She said that when Naruto and Sasuke got the childhood they deserved, they wouldn't have that rivalry. But looking at the two right now, Sakura realized something that made her smile widen.

Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry, is a universal thing. And that will never change, no matter what time. Her smile turned nostalgic. It's not like she'll have them any other way anyway.


	5. Chapter 4: Inner Sakura

**Hey guys, me again. I would like to thank Anonymous_Artz for the cover photo, though, that's just their account name on Wattpad. Anyway, song's not mine. It's entitled "In My arms" by The Plumb. And thank you for a guest who happens to be the first one to review, as well as the 5 people who followed thi story, and the person who favorite-s this. Thanks guys, I dedicate this chapter to the aforementioned people. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Normal POV**

Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry, is a universal thing. And that will never change, no matter what time.

Sakura let out a giggle when Naruto tripped at his own foot and accidentally threw the bucket of sand towards Sasuke, effectively resulting in a brawl between the two. Destroying their sand castles in the process.

Shooking her head, the pinkette stood up and pried the two from each other with strength that she didn't know she still possessed, immediately ending their fight. But she couldn't stop the two from verbally insulting each other.

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"Bastard!"

"Idiot!"

"Ass–"

With a gasp, she stopped Naruto from continuing whatever he was going to say. Whatever it is, she knew it was not a very good word. She reprimanded the two, asking where did they ever learn the bad words.

"You two! Those words that you said are not very nice. Where did you even learn those words? Whoever that was, he or she needs to learn manners. So do you two!" She clicked her tongue while shooking her head. Meanwhile, the boys flushed red in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Sakura- chan." They apologized in unison before glaring at each other.

"Stop copying me!" They pointed at each other, yelling the words at the same time. Which results to another yelling session.

"Me? It was you!" They yelled in perfect sync.

"Stop copying me, copy- cat!" Their voice blended together perfectly making Sakura chuckle in amusement.

"It's not funny!" Both looked at each other. Their voice was in unison that the rosette couldn't help the remark that came out of her mouth.

"You know, you two should join a chorus or a singing contest. Your voice blends perfectly well." The pinkette smirked. "That is, if you could sing."

Both looked insulted for a second before chasing Sakura all around the play ground. The trio let out childish laughs as they went and played tag. Though, Sakura was never the 'it' because she was very, very fast. This surprised both Naruto and Sasuke but they shrugged it off as nothing. The children continued to play until a familiar raven haired heir made his appearance.

Sasuke abruptly stopped before dashing towards his brother.

"Aniki!"

Itachi catched the running Sasuke before taking a step back, due to the force of the impact. The older Uchiha carried his younger brother in a piggy back style and approached Sakura and Naruto with a small, almost unnoticeable, smile.

"Thank you for accompanying my brother for today. I hope we meet again tomorrow." Itachi spoke politely. The three four-year-olds grinned brightly at the oldest of the group and nodded. They bid each other goodbye and promised to meet again at the playground on the morning.

They waved at each other until Sasuke and Itachi disappeared from their sight. Sakura then turned to the blonde sunshine beside her.

"So, Naruto. Want me to walk you home? Wait, where do you live anyways?" Sakura asked. Her emerald eyes shone with curiosity, but on the inside, she already knew the answer. And she dreaded it.

"I live, uhm. Uh. I." Naruto fumbled with his words while Sakura looked at him with understanding. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me, Naruto. I understand."

"It's okay, Sakura- chan. I, uhm. I live at the orphanage. I never knew my parents and I have no relatives to take care of me." She saw the sadness in his eyes and she felt her heart clench. Without warning, she pulled the blonde into an embrace that he returned whole heartedly. Seconds passed and they let go of each other.

"So, can I walk you home?" Sakura asked. The blonde shook his head, making Sakura pout. But when the blonde promised to let her next time, the bright smile returned on her pale face. They hugged each other and said their goodbyes at each other.

Sakura watched as Naruto took the path opposite of hers before he disappeared out of her sight. She sighed before a large grin emerged in her childish, heart- shaped face. She didn't really expect to meet Naruto, or Sasuke, and most definitely Itachi on her first day of being back in time. But as the memories of her day flashed in her mind, she knew she had nothing to regret about her actions.

She already made bonds with her boys. And this time, she'll do everything to make them happy. With that thought, she made her way towards her home.

Sakura let out a cheerful 'Im home~', as soon as she stepped foot in their house. Her mother's voice rang from the kitchen, in which the small child immediately found her way into. She greeted her mother with a hug, which only reached the woman's legs due to her small height. Her mother took her in her arms and returned her hug whole heartedly.

"So, how was your day, Sacchan?" Her mother asked, settings her down in one of the chairs surrounding the dinner table in their kitchen and continued to prepare the dinner. Sakura beamed at the thought of introducing her new friends.

"Well, mommy. On the park this morning, I met a kid. His hair is blonde and has three whiskers on each side of his cheek. He was really lonely because he was the only one on the swing and no one would play with him. So I approached him and asked him if he wants me to push him. And then he glared at me and then he was like, 'are you sure this is not a prank?' and then I was like, 'yes, of course not.' and then I said 'oh, I forgot. I'm Haruno Sakura.' And then he was like, ' I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!' And then we played on the swing and we ate ramen."

Sakura was about to continue her rant about her day when her mother stopped her.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold on, Sacchan. Can you please set up the table? Your father will be here soon. Then you can continue your story on dinner, ok?" She gave her mother a grin and nodded. "Okay, mommy!" She jumped down on her chair and dragged it towards the cupboards. Taking three plates, spoons, forks, chopsticks, and glasses, she quickly closed the cupboard doors and went down the chair, setting down their table.

There was a knock on the door and Sakura recognized the chakra signature as her father's. "I'll get the door, mommy." With that said, the little Haruno raced to the doors to greet her father. She opened the door and was immediately scooped in the hands of her red- headed father, making her squeal.

"Daddyyyy!" The man chuckled and closed the door. Kizashi, with Sakura in his hands, immediately went to the kitchen to greet his wife. Letting Sakura down, he snaked his arms in his wife's waist making the woman chuckle.

"Come on, now, Kizashi. Let's eat dinner." Sakura giggled and sat in her chair. They ate dinner, all the while, Sakura her meeting with the young blonde Uzumaki and the two Uchiha heirs.

Her parents didn't seem to mind her friendship with either of them and for that, she was grateful. Her parents even asked her to invite them over for dinner. She beamed throughout the meal. She was glad and grateful that they were her parents. A few minutes later, they finished their meal.

"Okay, Sacchan. Go and brush your teeth, then shower and get ready for bed. I'll be there in a few minutes to help you out." Mebuki said. "Okay, mommy." Came out Sakura's reply as she raced to the flight of stairs to her bedroom.

Sakura raced to her bathroom inside her room and immediately brushed her teeth. Then rinsed and took her shower. A few minutes later, she was done and contemplating on what pajama she was going to wear.

**'I think the pink one with teddy bears on it is cuter.'**

Sakura freezed at the voice inside her head. 'Inner?'

**'No, Saki-chan. I'm your mom.'**

'Inner! How come you're here? I thought you were gone?'

**'Duh, Saki- chan. I'm you and you're me. We're the same person. Though, different minds. I am not gone, I did not disappear, I did no such thing. I simply slept at the back of your mind. And when you traveled back in time, I, of course, was sent together with you. That explains my existence here. Get it?'**

'Duh, of course. Anyway, I'm so happy that you are here with me. Did you see what happened this morning?'

**'Yes! And, oh my gosh. Even when he is still a four- year- old child, Sasuke is still a cutie. Even Naruto. Gosh, did you see how cute they were?'**

Inner Sakura gushed on and on and on about how cute Naruto and Sasuke were. She even had hearts in her eyes. Sakura chuckled at her inner. A few minutes later of catching up with each other, Sakura felt her mother's chakra signature nearing her room. She quickly climbed into her bed, sitting and placing the covers with her. She hugged her new stuff toys close to her chest as the door in her room opened slowly to reveal her mother, dressed in her own nightgown.

Her mother smiled and tucked her to bed. She sat beside her and caressed her hair as she sung her a lullaby.

_Your baby blues_

_So full of wonder_

_Your curly cues_

_Your contagious smile_

_And as I watch_

_You start to grow up_

_All I can do is hold you tight_

_Knowing clouds will raise up_

_Storms will race in_

_But you will be safe in my arms_

_Rains will pour down_

_Waves will crash all around_

_But you will be safe in my arms_

Sakura let out a yawn while her mother continued to sing.

_Story books full of fairy tales_

_Kings and queens and the bluest skies_

_My heart is torn just in knowing_

_You'll someday see the truth from lies_

_Knowing clouds will raise up_

_Storms will race in_

_But you will be safe in my arms_

_Rains will pour down_

_Waves will crash all around_

_But you will be safe in my arms_

_Castles they might crumble_

_Dreams may not come true_

_But you are never all alone_

_Because I will always_

_Always love you_

_Clouds will raise up_

_Storms will race in_

_But you will be safe in my arms_

_Rains will pour down_

_Waves will crash all around_

_But you will be safe in my arms._

Mebuki finished her song and kisses her daughter's forehead. "Goodnight, Sakura. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight mommy."

'Goodnight, Inner.'

**'Goodnight, Saki- chan.'**

With that, Sakura fell into a dreamless slumber.


	6. Chapter 5: Training

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. I only own the plot and the inevitable use of OCs in the story.**

**Be warned, little bit cussing ahead. Not censored.**

**Enjoy~**

**Normal POV**

A few days before, Sakura had asked her parents to train her in order to become a shinobi like them. Her parents of course had agreed to this. They told her that they would start her training two days after asking.

She asked them on Monday. And today is Wednesday. The day of her training.

Sakura was still sleeping peacefully in her bed when her alarm clock rang. She raised a lazy hand to stop the alarm clock from ringing but when she couldn't find the stop button, she grew irritated and crushed the alarm clock in her hand.

This caused her to immediately sit up in her bed, shocked by her action. She grew worried because she was going to be scolded by her mother.

**'Well, Saki- chan. Please prepare our ears. I don't want to become deaf.' **Inner Sakura commented, making Sakura cringe at the thought. 'Well, uhm, we just have to explain.' Nodding to herself, she hopped off her bed and opened the window.

Sakura jaw- dropped at the scene I front of her. It was still dark. Very very dark. And usually, her alarm clock would ring when the time is about 7:00 or 7:30. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the now destroyed alarm clock. Looking outside again, the pinkette guessed it was about 3:45 am.

Either she forgot to set her alarm clock, she or someone changed the time of the alarm, or 7:30 in the morning is still dark.

**'I highly doubt that, Saki- chan. That is, if Kaguya is back.'**

'You're right, Inner. So either it's option one or two.'

There was a knock on the door which snapped Sakura out of her reverie. The door swung open and in came her mother. "Oh, I see you have woken up, Sacchan. I changed the time in your alarm clock because today, is the start of your training."

"Oh," was Sakura's smart answer. Her mother smiled at her while she fidget. "Mommy, speaking of the alarm clock. I, uhm, I kind of broke it because it was so early and it woke me up and I tried to stop it from ringing but I couldn't find the sleep button so I crushed it with my hand accidentally and now it is broken." Sakura said in a rush. "Are you mad at me, mommy? Can you please forgive me? I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't mean to crush it." The pinkette looked down in shame.

Her mother looked at her with an unreadable expression before softening and letting out a soft chuckle. She tool her daughter's chin and raised it to look her in the eye. "I'm not mad at you, Sacchan. It's just an alarm clock. And, I'm surprised you were able to crush the alarm clock. You sure are strong, Sacchan."

Sakura let out a grin at herother before hugging her. "Thank you, mommy." Her mother smiled softly before speaking. "Now, go get dressed and eat your breakfast. Then we can start your training." Nodding to her mother, Sakura sprinted to the bathroom and immediately took a bath. The cold water in her skin waking her up evenmore.

She took out a sleeveless red shirt with a zipper in front and the Haruno crest at the back. Then a black fitted spandex shorts and her standard shinobi sandals. She twisted her hair in a bun and tied it with the red ribbon Ino gave her.

Speaking of Ino, Sakura still hadn't see her. Making a mental note to find her female best friend later, Sakura made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Sakura watched as her father flashed his hand through series of hand signs before slamming his hands on the ground. A loud rumble was heard and she and her mother took a step back. A few seconds later, the wall moved and her father stepped inside. Her mother ushered her inside and when they entered, Sakura gasped at the view.

It was a large clearing surrounded by tall and big trees. There was a lake on one side of the clearing and a brown bridge to cross the lake. There were targets used in practicing and throwing projectiles. Some were on trees, on stumps and on dummies. The training dummies were positioned on different part of the clearing. From the looks of it, you can tell that it is a training ground. Sakura heard a rumble again and the door of the training ground closed.

Sakura turned to her parents, excitement visible in her emerald eyes. "Daddy, are we going to train here?" Her mother let out a giggle while her father chuckled.

"Yes, princess. This is the private training grounds of the Haruno clan." Her father told her. Her mother excused herself, saying that she was going to prepare snacks for them and get the things needed for her training.

"Now, Sakura. Do you know the katas already?" Kizashi asked to his daughter. He did not doubt that she already know because she was a genius. So when Sakura nodded, he found himself not surprised.

But what surprised him is how Sakura can do it perfectly well. He did not see her practicing in their house and she is babysitted by their neighbors whenever they have missions. Meanwhile, while he was observing her, Sakura was having a mental debate between her and Inner.

**'Why are you doing it perfectly? Dad will get suspicious!' **Inner said to Sakura.

'I don't know! My body moved on its own!' Sakura replied back. **'How are you going to explain this?!'** Sakura sighed silently. 'I'll just tell him that I practiced outside while our Shadow Clone is being babysitted by Hana- san.'

**'Good. But how are you gonna explain the Shadow Clone?'**

'I'll tell him that I saw a ninja practice it so I watched him and copied his hand signs because I thought it may come in handy.' Sakura replied easily. **'I love it! You're a genius outer!'**

Sakura smiled. 'We're the same. You're a genius too, Inner.'

**'Oh, shocks. Thanks, outer.'**

'No problem!'

"Sakura?" Kizashi's voice snapped Sakura out of her mental conversation. The red-head looked at her with awe. "Yes, daddy?"

"How come you do the katas perfectly when I don't see you practice it on the house. And Hana didn't telle anything about you practicing." Well shit.

"I, uhm, I used clones, daddy." Sakura whispered. "Can you elaborate?"

**'Outer! We forgot. Shadow Clone is a secret technique of Konoha. Not many people knows about it.' **Sakura looks calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was freaking out.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!'

**'Outer, calm down! Just perform a water clone or earth clone or something. Make sure to use as minimum chakra as needed. We still don't know if we still have the chakra we had before we time- traveled!'**

'Phew. Okay! Thanks, inner!'

**'No, problem. Now go explain.'**

So, Sakura explained it to her father with the use of the lies they made. "Well, you see, daddy. I thought I could practice the katas earlier so that we can start the training faster. I am not really on the house when you are on missions. I used a water clone to act as me while I practice my katas. I learned the water clone on the books on our small library. Am I in trouble, daddy?" Sakura fidgeted under her father's gaze.

She was very nervous. What if her father gets suspicious that she is not the daughter they know? What if they'll let a Yamanaka search through her mind? Or worse, an Uchiha using their Sharingan. What if they found out that she came from the future and force the information out of her? What if she'll just make everything worse?!

Her panick on the inside was halted when her father spoke softly. "Can you show me the Water Clone?" He ask. Sakura nodded her head slowly. They made their way to the lake side. Sakura flashed her hand through a series of hand signs and tried to slow it down. But the hand signs came out a little bit faster than she would have liked or expected.

"Water Style: Water Clone Technique"

She called out, as soon as she finished the hand signs. Not a second later, a jet of water sprouted out from the lake and materialize, taking the shape of a human, copying Sakura perfectly. Soon, there were two Sakuras facing Kizashi.

The jounin looked at his daughter in awe. He never expected her to be so .. so advance that she even learned a technique, a high ranking one at that, all by herself. They knew she was a genius, she absorbs all the knowledge they taught her like a permanently dry sponge. If she is trained the right way, she might become like them. Prodigy.

"Daddy?" Kizashi snapped out of his thoughts and grinned brightly at his daughter. "Wow, Sakura- chan. You're good at this. It seems that you're more advance than I thought. You're a prodigy!"

'If only you knew, dad.'

Sakura smiled and asked. "Does that mean I'm not in trouble?" Kizashi nodded. He clapped his hand and spoke. "Ok, now let's start you're training. I want you to do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 curl-ups and run 5 laps around the village." Sakura's jaw dropped. "Daddy, are you sure?" Sakura pouted. Kizashi laughed at his daughter and nodded before telling her to do her training. The pinkette did what she was told to do, though reluctantly.

As she was on her twenty-fifth push-ups, Sakura checked up on her chakra reserves and realized that she had a larger than normal reserves but nowhere near her large reserves before. Sakura sighed, she's still got a long way to go to reach, or surpass her past- future self.

-Seven Hours Later-

Sakura was on her last and final lap and she felt like she was going to collapse and faint from exhaustion. She really needs to strengthen her body and train on her stamina. And her speed. She sighed and looked at the sun in the sky. She guessed it was about 11 o'clock or 11:30. She ran faster hoping to finish earlier.

-A Few Minutes Later-  
-Haruno Clan's Private Training Grounds-

Sakura was on her back, panting and gasping for breath. She was sweaty and dirty from all the training and by the looks of it, it was not going to end anytime soon.

Her mother entered with water and lots and lots of snacks. Dango, dumplings, sweets and many more. Sakura sprinted to her mother like her body was not sore and tired and gave her the best puppy eyes she could muster.

"Mommy, can I please have some. I'm so, so, so hungry. Please, pretty please?" Her mother chuckled before ruffling her hair. "Alright. But don't eat all okay? Lunchtime is nearing. Knowing you, you'll eat it all because they are all sweets." Sakura pouted.

Yes, she admits. She has a sweet tooth, but who cares? So, she nodded her head and ate her snack.

Sakura and her parents had just finished lunch and was back to the training ground for more training.

"Ok, Sakura-chan. Now, throw this kunais to the target. Make sure you hit the red in the center, ok?" Sakura nodded. Truthfully, she still hadn't practiced to see her range of skills yet. So she might have some problem with this one.

Taking the kunais from her father, she flicked her wrist and surprisingly, it hit the target dead in the center. She repeated the process. As a result, there were seven kunais in the center and three not too far from the others. To say that her father was shocked would be an understatement. It seems that his daughter just keeps on surprising him more and more.

"Have you been practicing throwing kunais, Sakura-chan?" Kizashi inquired. The little pinkette shook her head. "No, daddy. It was the first time I did it. Was it that bad?"

Okay, that was a lie. It was not the first time she threw kunais, but that was on another timeline. But right now, she had to focus on the matters at hand. Throwing kunais and shurikens. Sakura looked at the sky before sighing quietly and turning back to throwing projectiles.

'This is going to be a long day.'


	7. Chapter 6: Of Gifts and Plans

**Sorry for the lame title of the chapter but I'm not really very good when it comes to this things.**

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. It belongs to Masashi Koshimoto. I only own the plot and the inevitable OCs used in the story.**

**Enjoy~**

**Normal POV **

It's been a few days since Sakura started her training. She was balancing her time with her friends, her family, reading and training. On the morning, she would wake up early and start her training, then meet up with Naruto and Sasuke. Then she would go to the library to read a little bit and then return home before it was dark.

Right now, Sakura was having dinner with her parents taking about their day. When suddenly, her parents talked about their mission.

"Sacchan, mommy and daddy are going on a mission tomorrow. Hana-san is going to take care of you, okay? Mommy and daddy will be back within two or three weeks time." Mebuki explained to their daughter. "We will leave very early tomorrow so take good care, okay. Remember your training okay? I already informed Hana-san about it so she will check up on you every now and then. Don't forget the security seals on the doors and windows, okay?" Kizashi reminded Sakura. The pinkette nodded and let out a very cheerful, 'Okay!'

After finishing their dinner, Sakura went upstairs in her room and get ready for bed. A few minutes later, her mother came in her room and tucked her to bed. And just like every nights before, she sang her a lullaby to help her sleep.

_Now we've come so far from darkness_

_And will never be apart_

_So we leave for tomorrow_

_To start our lives again_

_Find me there, my tiny feathers_

_Of my holy ancient days_

_You will calm all my sadness_

_And ring your song_

_Only for me_

Sakura let out a yawn and felt her eyes getting heavy. Her mother hummed and gently combed the pinkette's hair.

_Find me there, my tiny feathers_

_Of my holy ancient days_

_I will calm all your sadness_

Sakura let out one final yawn before drifting off to sleep.

_And sing my song_

_Only for you..._

Mebuki smiled softly at her daughter before placing a tender kiss at her forehead. "Goodnight, my dear daughter. Sweet dreams." She bid her goodnight before walking out of the room swiftly and quietly.

**FATE: SECOND CHANCE**

_**"Sakura.." **_A soft voice called out.

_**"Sakura.." **_The voice called out again.

Sakura opened her eyes but saw nothing. There was darkness everywhere and no light can be seen. Suddenly, a bright light emerged from a corner, then on another, and on another, until bright light covered the whole void. Sakura closed her eyes and shielded it using her hands to prevent the blinding light from hurting her eyes.

She opened her eyes and found herself in a brightly lit room. There was a mirror in front of her and she found herself staring at her reflection. She was surprised when she saw her seventeen- year-old self. Her hair was very long, almost reaching the ground, but it was floating around her. As if she was underwater.

She wore a very elegant white dress and just like her hair, it reach the ground and was floating around. There was a small white crown-like hair ornament on her hair and an emerald gem in the center of it. There was a cherry blossom necklace around her neck which seems to be glowing. Her forehead protector was nowhere to be found but her hair was held up by the crown on her head.

The pinkette looked around her. "Hello?" She called out. There was a shuffling, before she found herself looking at her exact carbon- copy except, there was a kanji sign on her forehead for 'Inner Sakura'. Sakura gasped.

"'Inner?" Said female rolled her eyes and spoke. **"Stop stating the obvious, Saki-chan." **It was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes.

"Sorry, do you know where we are?"

**"No, outer. I don't know."**

Suddenly, they saw a female figure walking towards their direction. She wore a very, very elegant white long-sleeved dress that reached the ground. She had a silky white hair that touched the ground and floats in a similar manner to Sakura's. She had a pale face and sapphire blue eyes that seemed to hold intelligence, knowledge and power. She looks to be around the same age as Sakura. As she neared the two, she stopped right in front of them and spoke.

_**"Haruno Sakura." **_Sakura's eyes widened. Memories came back at her and she found herself pointing to the woman in front of her. Inner, realizing what her outer realized, jaw-dropped.

"You're Fate! You're the one who sent me back here at the past. You're also the one who called out my name before!" Sakura blurted out. Inner however, fixed her composure, Sakura doing the same and clearing her throat.

"I-I mean, why are we here?" She tried not to stutter. She really did. The white haired woman chuckled and walked closer to both Sakuras.

_**"I will go straight to the point. I called you here to give you something that will help you with your self-assigned mission. I saw how determined you are to change your destiny. And I needed your help." **_Sakura was shocked. Surely, she didn't mean that. Why would she want her help?

_**"I need your help to change the fate of this world. The world have changed and many of that is because of the unnecessary things my sons and I have committed. I was controlled by the power and became blinded by it."**_

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" At Sakura's question, the appearance of the woman in front of her changed. Her sapphire blue eyes turned pale white. A third eye appeared in the center of her forehead and two horns protruded from her head. Her dress turned into an elegant traditional kimono. Sakura gasped.

"Otsusuki Kaguya." The pinkette found herself whispering the deity's name. Anger bloomed in her chest, but before she could act upon it, a serene feeling washed over her, and temporarily, she forgot her anger.

The goddess smiled at her. _**"Yes. I remember you from our fight. You were the one who distracted me, so that Indra and Asura's reincarnations can seal me. However, that is not what we have come here to discuss. As you can see, the Fourth Shinobi World War should not have happened. We were not supposed to be disturbed from our eternal sleep. But humans have become so stubborn. As you have seen, I was sealed. That means I only have limited time in here because I was sealed back."**_

_**"Therefore, I need you're help to prevent the war from happening. And to ensure your success, I have come to give you this." **_A sword materialized into the goddess' hands.

The hilt was black in color, its blade is a gleaming shade of silver. Cherry blossoms where carved in the blade, from the base, down to the tip on both sides. It was like a katana. Seals were engraved in the black hilt.

_**"Push a tiny portion of your chakra into the sword and it will become any type of weapon you wish. It can wield all types of elements and fix itself using the blood of your enemy. You don't have to use chakra all the time in order to wield it. Once you pushed your chakra into it, the sword will obey your will. It will return to you if ever you get separated from it. It's an ancient blade that I once used. It's called Megami no Ha. Goddess Blade."**_

Sakura gasped. The sword disappeared from Kaguya's hands and appeared in front of her, suspended in the air. _**"I want you to have it. You are the guardian of the reincarnation of my grandsons, that sword will help you. I want no questions or protest from you. You cannot decline that sword. Please."**_

Sakura looked at the goddess in front of her. Who was she to decline a gift from a goddess? She should be grateful. She was doing this for the sake of her friends that she swore to protect, even in front of death. She smiled softly and took the sword. She bowed her head to the deity before thanking her.

"Thank you, Kaguya-sama."

_**"I will also give you this." **_A ball of light formed in Kaguya's hands and floated towards the pinkette. It neared her and entered her chest. A gasp escaped her lips and pressed a hand to her chest, right where the ball of light disappeared into.

_**"That is an ability that you would find out later. And let me warn you. This meeting shall not be known to other humans. This shall remain a secret. To ensure that, the sword or any ability that I gave you shall remain only to you. Others cannot use it, nor can your future spouse or offspring. People may use this against you or use it to find out secrets that they should not know of."**_

_**"The information you know about the future can be very dangerous. Please, use my gifts wisely." **_Sakura nodded her head. "Thank you, Kaguya-sama. I will do everything in my power to prevent the war from happening and to save your grandchildren. Thank you for everything."

_**"No, thank you."**_ Sakura smiled. _**"Goodbye. I wish your success, my child." **_The goddess whispered. Her body turned to dust, then floated and was swept away by a gust of wind. Sakura smiled and turned to her inner, which was surprisingly quiet the whole time.

"'Inner?" The pinkette called out. Inner Sakura shook her head, snapping out of her daze. **"Oh, sorry. I was just in awe. I mean, we get to kick some asses." **Inner Sakura gushed on and on about how awesome they are and how kick ass they are gonna be.

Sakura shook her and grinned at her alter ego, in which Inner returned with her own. "Come on, let's go back." Inner nodded her head and everything disappeared into nothingness.

**FATE: SECOND CHANCE**

"Rrrriiiinnngggg! Rrrriiiinnngggg!"

A shuffling was heard before a hand shot up to crush the poor alarm clock which was only doing its job. There was a cracking sound before the alarm clock was turned into a mess of metal. A groan came from the lump under the sheets before the hand pulled the sheets down, revealing the scowling face of a still sleepy Sakura. The girl huffed out a breath before sitting in up in her bed. She rubbed the sleepiness away from her eyes and stood up. She didn't notice a glinting object poking out underneath her pillow.

Minutes passed and Sakura came out of her bathroom, already dressed and ready to go. She opened the curtain to her room and glanced at the surroundings. It was still dark outside. The pinkette sighed and turned to fix her bed. She folded her blankets and placed it above her pillows. Her fingers brushed with something cold, just underneath her her pillows.

Raising the pillow, she found the object hidden beneath her pillows. Sakura gasped and the memories of last night played in her mind. She remembered meeting Fate, which turned out to be the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Otsusuki. She also remembered the goddess giving her the sword, which was the object underneath her pillow.

She picked up the sword, inspecting it. She pushed a little bit of her chakra into the sword. Sakura closed her eyes and imagined in her head that it was a kunai. She opened her eyes and gasped. The sword turned into a black kunai with cherry blossoms engraved into its hilt. She imagined the kunai to multiply into two kunai and the kunai in her hand multiplied. Sakura grinned. This sword will definitely help her. She imagined the other kunai to disappear and placed the sword turned kunai into her pouch.

She went down to the kitchen and ate the breakfast her mother prepared for her before they left for their mission and went to the training grounds. She ran laps around the village. Her father promised to buy her weights and to increase her training when they got back from their mission.

An hour later, after Sakura practiced her accuracy by throwing kunais and shurikens, she decided to try out a new water technique she had been improvising. It takes a lot of chakra, which will leave her exhausted after trying, but she tried it anyway. She flashed through a series of hand signs and called out.

"Water Style: Raging Violent Seas Technique"

Sakura watched in awe as the water from the small lake rose into almost a hundred feet wall of water. It stood still for a few seconds before crashing into the eastern part of the forest surrounding the training grounds. The force of the water caused trees to uproot, immediately and effectively destroying the trees to splinters, wiping out the whole eastern part of the forest.

When Sakura snapped out of her daze, she realized that she wasn't even breaking a sweat and that her chakra felt untouched. As if she didn't just performed an A-rank technique, or at least that's what she ranked it. In fact, her eyes widened, her chakra feels like it's doubled, tripled even. Almost as big as her reserves before. But the added chakra feels raw.

The goddess entered her mind. It must be one of her gifts. The ball of light must be some of the goddess' chakra. To help her succeed in her mission in preventing the war.

**"Hell yeah! We can finally show them who's boss!" **Inner shouted and pumped her fist in the air. Sakura shook her and smiled.

**"Oi, Saki-chan! Try some fire techniques. Oh, and maybe some lightning and wind and earth too." **Sakura's alter ego demanded.

'Inner, our affinities are earth and water only. We can't do fire, wind and lightning.' The pinkette reminded her inner as ahe shook her head.

**"Duh, Kaguya-sama's chakra is raw. It can be bent to any element we want." **Inner rolled her eyes. And Sakura was supposed to be smart.

'But we still don't know how to manipulate her chakra.' Sakura reasoned. She did have a point. If she used the chakra without learning how to properly manipulate it can harm her body.

**"Just do it already." **Sakura sighed. Inner's whining was so loud the pinkette let out a groan. 'Fine!'

Inner cheered at her obvious win.

**\- Two hours later -**

It was 7: 30 in the morning and Sakura was waiting for Naruto and Sasuke in their usual place at the play ground. Sakura would always bring books and pens to teach Naruto how to read and write. And she had to say, Naruto have improved a lot since the day she began teaching him. He can already read but not very fast although Sakura had been working on it for a few days now.

The young child say down underneath a shady tree and took out a book about water techniques. She placed a complex but almost unnoticeable genjutsu to change the appearance of the book and it's contents. She doesn't want anyone to know about it for the fear of being labelled a prodigy. If that happens, then her plan to make sure that Team Seven does happen will be for nothing.

They are going to enter the academy when they turned five and Sakura planned to rig the genin exams. She will just have to make Sasuke act all cold and arrogant, make Naruto act like, uhm, well a troublemaker and attention seeker. While she, she needed to act like Sasuke's fangirl. Just like last time, but this time though, it was all just an act.

Sakura thought that her plan was brilliant. For when they are placed into teams, their soon-to-be sensei will have no idea of what they are capable of doing and will definitely underestimate them. She smirked at the thought. If her plan worked, she would definitely love to see the look on Kakashi's face.

Minutes passed and Naruto appeared wearing a cream colored shirt on top of a green sweater and brown shorts. He waved at her as soon as he saw her and sprinted on her way. "Sakura-chan!" The hyper blonde yelled. Sakura grinned at the younger child and waved back. Naruto sat on her left as he showed her a book.

"I finished the activity you gave me! It was hard." The blonde grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I dont know if all of it was correct." Sakura smiled softly and pat the blonde's head.

"Nah, it's okay. Let's wait for Sasuke, ok? I have something to tell you two." Naruto nodded his head.

They waited for a few minutes for Sasuke. And during those minutes of waiting, Naruto and Sakura talked about all sorts of things. Their waiting was ended when Sasuke came up to them, running. "Oi, teme!" Naruto waved his hand. Sasuke frowned at Tue nickname but sat beside Sakura on the right and nodded to both of his friends.

"Okay. Now that you're both here, let's discuss something." Both boys nodded there heads and kept quiet. They both know never to interrupt Sakura whenever she was talking because they would surely gain giant bumps on their heads if they did. That, and a lecture about proper manners and etiquettes.

"Both of you are entering the academy next year, right?" Both of the boys nodded their heads. Sakura smirked at their silent answer. 'Perfect.'

"Well, I have a plan for us. You see, during the seven years of the students at the academy, the teachers expect us to do our best. When the seven years of learning is done, they're gonna test our skills. Then, they'll divide the class into a team composing of three freshly graduate genin and that Team is lead by a jounin sensei. That team will be permanent until the team become Chuunin or went into separate ways."

"They will be sorting the students according to their performance. The top one student will be teamed up with the dead-last and an average female student. Two males and a female." Sakura looked at the two and eyed them carefully.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" Sasuke nodded his head. Of course, born a genius, always a genius. While Naruto. Well, let's just say, he didn't quite get it. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned at her sheepishly.

"Uhm... Eh, ah. Erm, he he he." Sakura smiled softly. "It means that we need to pretend that we are those three. What they expect us to be. So that when we three are placed on the same genin team, we will surprise everyone by showing them what we can really do." Sakura smirked on their faces. They had a look of awe on their faces.

"Wow, Sakura-chan. You're a genius, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted. "So here's the plan." The three huddled up to discuss their plan. In the end, it was decided that Sasuke would act as the top of the class, Naruro as the dead last and Sakura as an average female.

"But no one should know of our plan, okay, guys? Not even our parents, or your oji-san, Naruto. If they do, our plan will fail. Just act normal, okay guys?" Both nodded their head vigorously.

"Oh, and Sasuke?" The ravenette raised an eyebrow. "Just show your skills that is enough to land you on top of the class, okay?" He nodded his head once more and Sakura smiled. "Now, let's train! I'll take you to my family's private training grounds to train."

The boys cheered and followed the pinkette to the training ground. They didn't notice a single onyx eye watching them. The owner perched and hidden behind the leaves of a tree above the shade where the three oddballs were previously sitting. The eye narrowed before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura secretly glanced at the place where the person was hidden before. She narrowed her eyes. He thought she didn't notice his chakra signature slightly hidden, but oh, boy. How wrong he was. Sakura just hoped that he won't interfere with her plans. If that happens, everything may or may not go downhill.


	8. Chapter 7: Flower Fields

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Normal POV**

It has been a few days since Sakura took Naruto and Sasuke into the Haruno private training grounds. And a few days since she noticed the chakra which was yet to appear again. She made Naruto and Sasuke promise to never tell anyone about the training ground or their plan and secret training lessons.

Right now, she was all alone in her house because Naruto was meeting up with the Hokage and Sasuke was with Itachi, who promised to train the younger Uchiha. The pinkette was sitting in the sofa, reading a book about wind techniques. Just a few days before, she found out that she, indeed, can manipulate all the nature transformations. She tried a few fire techniques. It worked after a few tries but left her with a few burns here and there, especially in her arms and mouth. She also tried lightning and wind techniques, and like the first ones, it worked. But not without a price. The lightning electrocuted her for a few minutes and left her with a few burns while the wind gave her cuts here and there. And a big gash on her arm. She healed it albeit slowly, she was still getting used to using medical chakra again and is having a hard time maintaining the continuous flow of chakra in her hand. She was sure the gash would scar, to which she had no problem with, but the next day, the gash was gone and it didn't even scar.

She had a feeling it had something to do with the chakra the goddess gave her but she just shrugged it off. After almost an hour of doing nothing but reading, she was bored out of her mind. Sakura decided to take a walk outside and just enjoy the peacefulness. Walking around, the pinkette didn't have a destination in mind and just let her feet take her wherever they wish. She didn't expect herself to be in the flower fields that Ino once took her before.

She glanced at the beautiful field full of different kinds of flowers in all kinds of colors. She smiled, remembering the fun times they had when they were still children before. Thy were inseparable. Until Sasuke came and Sakura broke off their friendship for the duckbutt. Well, that's what she told Ino. In reality, she just wanted to stand on her own feet and to step out of her best friend's shadow. It was one of her greatest mistakes before but they both made up for each other. Gosh, she didn't know she miss that pig so much.

"Sakura?" A voice called out. Sakura, who was now laying on the field with her eyes closed, sighed. Just great. She missed that pig so much that she's imagining things already. The pinkette heard a laugh on her head.

**"Idiot." **Sakura grew irritated at her inner. 'Excuse me?!' Sakura couldn't help but yell at her alter ego. She heard a snort and then inner spoke again. **"You may pass, Saki-chan~" **Sakura grew frustrated at her inner. 'Why you–!' The pinkette was cut off by the voice again.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" The voice who sounded like Ino asked. Having been fed up with her inner's remarks, the rosette sat up and turned to the owner of the voice. Her jaw dropped at the person in front of her.

"Ino?!" Sakura immediately stood up and ran for the short blonde in front of her. Ino giggled at her friend's enthusiasm. They hugged each other tightly, Sakura more than Ino.

"I didn't know you know this place, Sakura." Ino pouted childishly. "I was going to take you here for a surprise when we meet again, but you're already here~" Sakura chuckled at the whining blonde. "Well, atleast you surprised me, Ino." The two giggled once  
more.

"Do you know what this flowers are?" Ino asked Sakura who shooked her head. The truth is, Sakura does know every single flower in the field because she would usually help Ino out on her family's flower shop. That, and Ino drilled every single flower species into her head on her other lifetime.

"Ok, then. I'll just teach you all I know about these flowers here." The blonde grinned at her in which Sakura returned.

Hours passed and the two were now laying on the flower fields. They were both quiet, content in each other's company. Until Sakura decided to break the silence.

"Ino?" The blonde hummed in response. "No matter what happens, we'll always be best friends, okay?" Ino looked at Sakura with a soft smile in her face. "Of course, Sakura!"

"Promise?" The pinkette held her pinky out to her best friend. The blonde took it in her own pinky finger, sealing their promise on each other. "I promise. Even if the world ends. Even if we like or marry the same boy. Or get into a fight." Sakura giggled. The second scenario was the one that destroyed their friendship. Or at least that was what Sakura reasoned with her before. It was actually that she wanted to step out of Ino's shadow and stand up on her own. It was one of her greatest regrets, but now, she turned to her and gazed at her first friend's face, smiling gently. She will make sure that it never happens again.

The day was spent with Sakura and Ino catching up with each other. The pinkette waved as she and Ino part ways. On her way home, she felt someone watching her, their gaze following her every step she took. She noticed the chakra signature and didn't need to turn around to know who it is.

Only until she was in the safety of her house that she felt the feeling of being followed disappear along with the familiar chakra signature.


	9. Chapter 8: The Uchihas

**So, sorry for the long wait, been busy a bit with school. Anyway, for the guest who asked if the sword of Kaguya is made like the Truth Seeking Balls. My answer is sorta, kinda. See, the Truth Seeking Balls can be manipulated in order to alter its form or characteristics. Kaguya's sword can change it's form, and can use any element, so while they have a sort of resemblance, the way they are made are different. As to how, well, it like a secret for now cause I have plans and all.**

**So, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It applies to all later chapters.**

**Normal POV**

Two weeks passed and Sakura's parents are due to return in a few days. During those two weeks, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura have been training immensely. Well, as immense as a kunai and shuriken training could get. The trio have also been practicing taijutsu, with Sakura correcting their stances and positions and giving tips here and there.

She would usually hold a taijutsu spar. Sometimes, she would fight Sasuke and sometimes, Naruto. She always try to prevent Sasuke and Naruro from sparring because it would usually just end up with a brawl between the two. They would roll each other in the dirt, causing their clothes and their selves to become dirtier than necessary.

She did train them with ninjutsu but only the academy techniques such as the substitution and clone technique. Just like before, Naruto can't make even a single clone and if he did, it would usually look like it was about to die. Sasuke however, was doing it like it was a piece of cake and would usually brag this to Naruto, resulting in another brawl. She would often flick their foreheads or smack their heads upside down if their brawl get a little too out of hand.

So, Sakura taught them a trick, which they have yet to master. Water walking and tree climbing. She figured that if she's gonna teach them some awesome jutsus, they're gonna need the chakra control to do it.

Right now though, Sakura and the two boys were making their way to the Uchiha compound. A few days ago, during one of their training sessions, Sakura had pushed Sasuke a little too hard. Sasuke, being the prideful Uchiha he is, didn't yield when the small pinkette asked him to and continue to attack, which ended up with him collapsing due to exhaustion. So, Sakura had to carry a completely knocked out Sasuke in her back, all the way to the Uchiha compound.

The trio received weird glances because one; they (Naruto and Sakura) were obviously not a common sight in a clan of black haired individuals and two; she had the youngest heir strapped to her back. Both heaved a sigh. Sakura, having no idea where Sasuke's house was, had to ask to a lady on the road, which was nice enough to point out the main branch house. Naruto and Sakura, with Sasuke on her back, arrived at their destination within a few minutes of wandering around, despite the directions given to them. During that time, only Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother, was in the main house. That alone made Sakura thankful. She didn't want to deal with others at the moment.

So, after they dropped Sasuke off and apologizing to his mother, who was a very kind and nice lady, they went in on their way home. But not before having the Uchiha matriarch invite them over for a dinner. The woman reasoned that it is only fair that her family meet her youngest son's best friends. Sakura and and Naruto, after much pursuing from the pinkette, agreed. She had been thankful that the woman didn't treat Naruto differently.

So, here she was now, walking with Naruto and Sasuke towards the Uchiha compound. They came to a halt when Sasuke stopped just in front of the door. He turned to both of his friends, his eyes narrowing a fraction.

"Naruto, watch your table manners. And Sakura, please be kind to my family. No snarky comments or anything." Sasuke said, emphasizing in the words 'table manners' and 'kind'.

Naruto frowned. Table manners means eating slower and he have to mind where will he place his elbows, how he will eat and staying still while eating. Sighing, the blonde nodded his head and agreed, though reluctantly.

"Fine, 'ttebayo."

Sakura however, just grinned at the young Uchiha and threw her arm around his shoulder. "Well, I will be kind if your father do. And basing on how you described him, I'm pretty sure we won't get along very well." Sakura smirked at the thought of irritating and annoying the Uchiha patriarch.

"Just," Sasuke heaved out a sigh. "just try to behave, guys." Sakura nodded her head but let out a very mischievous grin at her friend. She looked at Naruto who catched the secret message and grinned back.

Sasuke face palmed. He knew exactly what those looks meant. And it was never a good thing. He let out an exasperated sigh and opened the door. He left his sandals at the doorway and his friends did the same.

"Okaa-san! I'm home! I brought Sakura and Naruto with me!" A few soft footsteps was heard before Mikoto emerged from the kitchen, wearing a blue dress underneath an apron.

"Sasuke-chan!" The matriarch exclaimed as he welcome his son with a hug. Sasuke turned beet red and stiffly returned the hug. Seconds later, the woman released her son and turned to their guests.

"Welcome back, Sakura-chan, Naruto-chan. Nice of you to join us here for dinner." The ebony haired woman grinned at the two. The children returned the grin to her.

"It was a pleasure, Mikoto-san." Sakura said. "Yeah, thanks for the invitation, Mikoto-san." Naruto grinned brightly at the woman. Mikoto smiled softly. They were such kind and polite kids. And they are so cute.

"Okay. Sasuke-chan will show you around. But make sure to return before dinner time, okay?" Both kids nodded before dashing off to where Sasuke is.

The ravenette showed them to the rooms in the main branch house. The rooms were so big, twice the size of Sakura's. And that is saying something cause her room is very big. He went to a hallway which was the way to their rooms. He didn't show them what was inside the rooms though, much to Sakura and Naruto's dismay.

They came upon a small pond with koi fishes in it. The pinkette and the blonde approached the pond, only to be disappointed when Sasuke called them, saying it was time for dinner. Sakura grumbled and huffed. Naruto, on the other hand, protested loudly. Making their way to the kitchen where the Uchiha matriarch was.

"Okay, kids. Wash your hands. I'll call Itachi and Fugaku." Sasuke's mother chirped then disappeared into the hallways. She left the children to their own devices. Sakura was washing her hand quietly until she heard a scream. She snapped her head towards the direction of the noise and found Sasuke drenched on water.

"Dobe! Look at what you've done!" Sasuke growled.

"Sorry, teme! I didn't mean it. Honest!" Naruto waved his hands in front of him in a very defensive manner. Sasuke huffed before going out of the kitchen into the direction of the rooms.

"I'm just gonna change. But don't think this is over, dobe." He growled once more before quickly hurrying towards his room.

"You're on, teme!" Naruto called out to his raven haired rival and best friend. Sakura, on the other hand, was face palming as she watched the exchange. Trust Naruto and Sasuke to fight just because of a splashed water. She's pretty sure that they would fight over dinner later. She just hoped that they won't embarrassed themselves.

They waited for Sasuke to return, which wasn't long, before making their way towards the dinner table. The Uchiha clan head and the eldest heir was already sitting. Fugaku on the head of the table, and Itachi on his right. Sasuke sat at his father's left, I front of Itachi. Naruto immediately sat beside Sasuke leaving Sakura to sit beside Naruto. Mikoto came in from the kitchen with the food, placing it on the table before sitting down on the other end of the table.

"Let's wait for one more guest." Mikoto said. Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Who, Mikoto-san?" The small pinkette asked. Mikoto opened her mouth to answer but before she could, the door slid open followed by a voice.

"I'm here, Mikoto-oba-chan~" The voice said in a sing-song tone. Then, a black haired man with pale skin appeared and took the seat beside the stoic Itachi.

"Shisui." Fugaku greeted at the newcomer. "Hey, uncle." The man, now known as Shisui, waved at his uncle. He turned to his side and grinned at Itachi. "Hey, 'Tachi!"

"Hn." That was the short reply of the Uchiha prodigy. Shisui continued to grin as his gaze left Itachi. He looked at Sasuke who scowled at him in return. "Hey, Sasuke-chan!" He turned to Naruto and Sakura and greeted them.

"Hi! You must be Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke told me all about you." Naruto eyed him suspiciously while Sakura gave a polite smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shisui-san." She gave a slight bow. The Uchiha grin in response. "I didn't tell you anything. You were just there when I told aniki." Sasuke butted in. Shisui pouted childishly and let out a few fake tears.

"Waaah. Oba-chan, Sasuke-chan is being mean." Mikoto pet out a small chuckle. Fugaku looked at his nephew disapprovingly while Itachi let out a grunt of annoyance towards the older Uchiha.

"Well, now that we're all here. Let's go eat." Mikoto let out a smile as the others let out a murmur of 'itadakimasu'.

The dinner, Sakura can say, have been uneventful. Well, as uneventful as a dinner with Naruto, Sasuke and Shisui in a room together can get.

Naruto, who was sitting beside Sasuke and Sakura, forgot his table manners when he saw the ramen on the table. Sasuke tried to hide his disgust and eat slowly. But when Naruto challenged Sasuke, all hell broke loose.

They ate like a pig, if you asks Sakura. Foods were flying everywhere. Shisui was not a help either because he would rile up the two even more by saying that the other was winning against the other.

Mikoto giggled at the two. Itachi had a look of amusement while Fugaku looked at the two disapprovingly. Shisui kept on rilling the two and Sakura, well, let's just say she was embarrassed by the two. Actually, it was a mix of emotions.

She was happy, well, because they seem to be having fun competing against each other, as always. She's also amused, she's disgusted, they ate like pigs that haven't eaten for days. She's embarrassed because, well, they're her friends and they forgot their manners. Most of all, she's mad. Where was their manners?!

The other occupants of the room, except for Naruto and Sasuke, seems to notice the growing dark aura surrounding the pinkette because they suddenly stilled in the seats. Sakura breathe in and out slowly. The dark aura disappeared around her and the others silently breathe a sigh of relief.

"Naruto. Sasuke." The rosette suddenly spoke. The aforementioned boys stilled at the tone of her voice. She looked at the blankly before both boys nodded their heads and ate in a much slower pace than before.

Amusement was present in the eyes of the other Uchihas while Sasuke turned bright red in embarrassment. "Sorry." Both boys murmured in unison before resuming their meal. Needless to say, Naruto and Sasuke learned to never have an eating contest whenever Sakura is around. It is not worth their life.

After dinner, Mikoto ordered Itachi to accompany Naruto and Sakura to their respective houses. Sasuke complained about how they were his friends so he should be with them. Mikoto agreed, though, Shisui tagged along.

Sakura was in a very deep thought. She had not seen Uchiha Shisui face-to-face before. She only knew the man through the books she read in the library. And the only thing she knew about him is that he is famous for his perfect way of executing the body flicker.

Sakura let out a silent sigh. She needs to know a lot more about things. The pinkette turned to Naruto and asked.

"Do you wanna come for a sleepover tomorrow? Mommy and Daddy won't be returning until Friday." Naruto beamed at her before nodding his head excitedly. The blonde turned to Sasuke and started to yell at the youngest Uchiha.

"Ya hear that, teme?! I'mma have a sleepovers to Sakura-chan's house! Take that, teme!" He started laughing gleefully, making the ravenette scowl. Sasuke turned to her, his scowl disappearing from his face.

"Can I come too? It's not fair that you invited only the dobe." Sasuke frowned. Sakura let out a giggle. "I was just about to ask you." His face immediately brighten up. "Thanks."

Meanwhile, Shisui and Itachi watched the whole exchange with amusement in their eyes. Except, Shisui has a grin in his face while Itachi is as stoic as ever. Then, Shisui realized something.

"Where do you guys live anyway?" All of the Uchihas present stopped and turned to Naruto and Sakura. The blonde scratched the back of his head. "Well, I live at the orphanage."

"I live three streets ahead." Sakura said. The night was young and if the pinkette will guess, it's about 7:30 in the night. "We will take Naruto back." Itachi spoke for the first time since they left the Uchiha compound. "Shisui, make sure that Sakura-san returns home safely." Shisui grinned at his younger cousins and nodded.

"Of course, 'Tach-chan. You can count on me." He grinned widely again making Sasuke almost roll his eyes. Almost. "Hn." Itachi and Sasuke said in unison before ushering Naruto to walk. But before he does, the blonde waved to the pinkette goodbye and walked beside the siblings.

Shisui turned to the girl at his side. "Shall we get going now, Sakura-chan?" She nodded her head in answer and began walking, with Shisui slowing down his pace to fall in step beside the four year old. From what Sakura can tell, Shisui has a laid-back attitude, much like Naruto.

"Shisui-san, I meant no offense but you seem, uh, a little more laid back than the other Uchihas I have seen, or know." Sakura blushed after stating her opinion. Shisui however, just waved her comment off and ruffled her hair. "I don't really know why you thought so, but I can see what you mean. And well, I really don't see why I should not act like me. I mean, there's already enough grumpiness in the world, so why would I add more when I can be happy and cheerful all the time instead." He let out a grin at her.

"Besides, being sad doesn't do you any good, right?" Sakura looked at the teen by her side. He had a very interesting way of viewing things. "You're weird, Shisui-san. But the good kind of weird. I like the way you view things." She returned his grin with her own.

They talked about all kinds of things on the way to her home. Like how Sasuke has a weird obsession with tomatoes and how Itachi seemed to favor dango than any other food. And by the time they reached her house, she was sure she liked the guy. She's gonna save him, after all, he reminds her of Naruto. And she thinks she just found a new friend.

She was in front of the door, thanking Shisui go walking her home. She invited the man over but was politely declined when he reasons that it was getting late and that his parents might be worried. Thanking him once more, the man ruffled her hair before bidding goodbye, promising to see her again soon.

Meanwhile, Itachi had a hard time keeping his stoic features. Sasuke and Naruto had been yelling at each other the whole time, calling each other rude names that he didn't know they even had the knowledge of.

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"Bastard!"

"Idiot!"

"Tomato monster!" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the insult.

"Ramen freak!" The eyebrow rose higher. When and where did they got those insults?

"I'll beat your ass tomorrow!"

"I would like to see you try!"

Needless to say, Itachi learned that trying to stop the verbal fight between his brother and his best friend is impossible without gaining a white hair or two. If they do this every day, he doesn't know how the poor pinkette can stand them. He secretly prayed for the well being and sanity of said girl.

A few minutes after Shisui returned, he was already on his bed, his parents having turned to bed after greeting Jim and asking about his day. Later that night, Shisui reflected in what happened during his time with the small Haruno. He realized that he had forgotten that she was only four years old. She seemed so mature for her age, reminding him of someone he knew who was almost like her.

Yes, indeed like him. But only much more cheerful and bright, literally. He chuckled at the thought of his cousin Itachi having a pink hair and green eyes. That was his last thought before he drifted off to a dreamless slumber.


	10. Chapter 9: Change of Plans

**Chapter 9: Change of Plans**

* * *

**Normal POV**

Morning came more quickly than Sakura had expected. She figured that she only had today and tomorrow before her parents return from their mission, so she decided she should train harder to surprise her parents of her improvement so far. Getting out of bed, she headed for the bathroom to get ready for the day. She passed on the table near the door and her eyes caught sight of the black sword, Megami no Ha. She remembered that she haven't trained herself in using the blade to its original form yet. She briefly remembered using it to practice kunai and shuriken training.

Shrugging to herself, she quickly went to the bathroom and took a bath, returning minutes later, already fully dressed. She picked up her sword, making a mental note to visit a local weapons shop to find a suitable sheath for the special sword. She willed it to become a senbon needle, placing I in her hair to secure her bun.

Walking downstairs and straight to the kitchen, she made a simple meal of sandwich with strips of bacon, lettuce and tomatoes. She made three for each of them, just in case. She knew how much Naruto likes to eat and Sasuke has an obsession with tomatoes so she made sure to add more tomatoes to his. And more bacon to Naruto's.

Placing them into a well packed bentos, she made her way outside to meet up with Naruto and Sasuke. Locking the door with a series of hand seals that her father had taught her. On her way, she felt the familiar feeling of being followed and sense the chakra signature that had been following her for the past three weeks. She knew that he knew about their plan. Sighing, she massaged her temples and headed towards the playground, knowing all too well about the man following her.

She waited for a few minutes, and when Naruto and Sasuke appeared, she immediately made her way towards them. Grabbing one of their hands, she dragged them to a random training ground that is nearest to the play ground. Which, by the stroke of a giant coincidence, just so happen to be training ground seven. The very training ground that the past-future Team Seven used. Though, none of them, especially Sakura, seemed to notice this.

She let go of their hands and spun on her heel to face the two. They were both panting slightly and seemed confused. Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a habit she got from Naruto. She waited for both of them to catch the breath before letting out a small smile and spoke softly.

"We've got a problem." At this, Naruto and Sasuke's head snapped into her direction. She herself, wore a grim expression. "Wha–?" Naruto didn't get to finish his question as he cut off his speech, to himself.

"W-what do you mean?" It was Sasuke who asked the question. Her eyes flickered to the trees, just behind the two for a second. They didn't seem to notice this as they waited for her to answer the spoken question.

"Someone heard about our plan when we first discussed it in the play ground." Both of their jaws dropped.

"W-what?! How?!" Both boys fumbled with their words as they spoke in unison.

"Well, I sensed someone perched on top of the tree above us. I didn't payed them any mind 'cause I thought they would leave. Well, apparently not. They must have heard of our plan because I kept on sensing his chakra signature wherever we go. I think he's stalking us. Wait, no, scratch that. He's stalking me." Both boys gave her questioning gazes.

"Well, remember the day when we didn't get to meet up because you two were busy?" They both nodded their heads. "Well, he didn't follow you two, he followed me instead."

"What do we do now, Sakura-chan?" Naruto had a worried look on his face. "Well, he might become suspicious of us. So, I think the best way to deal with this problem is to change our plan."

"How are we going to change our plan, Sakura?" Sasuke asked and Naruto nodded his head, letting her know that he wants to know the solution too. "It's simple, really. We just go to the academy and be our normal selves. Atleast then, we can still be with each other. Though, our chances to be in the same team will be lesser now."

Both boys had a crestfallen look on their faces. Sakura grinned at the two. "Now, now, you two. No need to be sad." She took two out of the three bentos in her hand and gave them the one with their names on it. "Here. I made sandwiches for us. I added more tomatoes to yours, Sasuke. And more bacon to yours, Naruto." Their expression immediately brightened up. The trio sat up as they ate.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he took a big bite onto his first sandwich. Sasuke nodded his thanks to the sole girl. He looked at her, as if he remembered something.

"Oh, yeah. How did you sense him anyway?" He asked. His eyes never leaving her form as she opened her own bento. She smiled and mocked a thoughtful look, placing her chin above her interlaced fingers, much like what Tsunade would do when she is thinking.

"I sensed him using his chakra and mine. You see, every person has chakra inside their body, civilian or not. Though, civilians have lesser chakra in their body than shinobis. Anyway, we can sense each other's chakra without using our own chakra when theirs are not masked. But if it is, you will use your own chakra to form a very, very thin blanket of chakra that allows you to sense masked chakra signatures." Sakura blinked at the look of awe on Naruto and Sasuke's faces. The blonde even stopped eating.

"Uh, guys?" She waved a hand in front of their faces. Naruto's mouth is still hanging open. Sasuke seemed to snap out of it and smacked the head of his other companion. It snapped Naruto out of his dazed state and glared at the Uchiha. "What the hell, teme?!"

"Yoy look like an idiot." Sasuke replied coolly. "Actually, no scratch that. You're already an idiot." Naruto was shooking with anger as Sasuke gave him a smug look. "TEME!" Naruto bellowed and tackle the ravenette into the ground.

Sakura raised a hand and massage her temples. Really? This two are riled up so easily. And has the attention span of a spoon. Their attention shifts from one thing to another within seconds. And, do they even know how to control their temper? She heard a snort in her head.

**"Like you're one to talk, Saki-chan." **Sakura sighed at the voice. 'Seriously, Inner?' A chuckle came from her alter ego followed by a smirk.

**"Remember the time when you punched an enemy shinobi because you said he was annoying you? And then that one time when you threw a guy over the roof when he was flirting with you when you were busy with your paperwork for the hospital. And then the time when some random shinobi passed by and commented about your bu—"**

'Okay, Inner! I get it, no need to flash all those memories.'

She shook her head and turned to the two four-year-olds that are still brawling in the ground, again. Sighing, she massaged her temples again and called out to them.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Enough of that now. Finish those sandwiches I gave you and I'll show you something." And as if her words were magic, the two scrambled to their feet and ate their sandwiches. Which turned into another competition, ending up with Sakura scolding them and telling them to eat slowly.

Seconds later, she felt the chakra signature of the man disappear, along with the feeling of his presence.

Naruto and Sasuke made themselves comfortable in the ground. Or at least tried. They were sitting atleast fifteen feet away from Sakura, who was standing in the other side of the training ground. Minutes before, Sakura told them that she would show them something after they finished eating their sandwiches. Then she told them to stay at least fifteen feet away from her. So, here they are.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a confused look, then shrugged and turned their attention back to the speaking Sakura.

"Okay, guys. Watch carefully." She flashed through a series of hand signs so fast, it was all a blur. Well, for Sasuke and Naruto, that is.

"Water Style: Raging Violent Seas"

The water from the lake rose to form a wall of water atleast a hundred feet high and thirty feet in width. It stood for a few seconds before it came crashing down to the trees. The force of the technique uprooted trees and turned them into tiny splinters, completely obliterating the west part of the forest surrounding the training ground. While all of this happened, Sasuke and Naruto jaw dropped, completely frozen in their sitting positions. Seconds later, the water magically disappeared, leaving a destroyed forest.

Smirking to herself, Sakura turned to her best friends only to be greeted by their awe-strucked faces. Grinning, she ran up to them and plopped herself onto the ground in front of the frozen boys. She whistled loudly, catching their attention.

"So, how was it?" The boys fumbled with their words, trying to answer her question.

"I-it's awesome, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stood up. She turned to Sasuke who was looking at her strangely. "How did you do that?" He manage to ask.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! You were like 'Water Style!', then the water rose up, high up in the sky!" He flailed his arms up, giving emphasis to what he was saying. " And then the water was like, whoosh. It destroyed the forest!" Sasuke nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, it's a water style technique that I've created a month ago. I've only tried it once before this time. And that was about, three to four weeks ago." Sakura explained. "And if I'm gonna rank it, it'll be, A-rank. Maybe, or something like that."

They were about to open their mouths when Sakura stopped them, holding her hand in their mouths. "If you're asking me if I could teach you how to create your own techniques, then my answer is yes. Yes, I will teach you." She let out an evil smirk at their victorious expressions and retracted her hands.

"But only if you master tree climbing and water walking." She smiled at their crestfallen expressions. "Oh, cheer up guys! It will help you, you know? Chakra control is important. If you can't control you chakra properly, then you won't be able to create strong jutsus." She smirked as they scrambled to their feet and picked up a tree to climb.

"I'm gonna finish first, teme!"

"Not if I do first, dobe!"

She let out a little chuckle. Children are so easy to manipulate. Huh, she almost sounded like that Danzo bastard there for a second.

* * *

Shisui just came back from reporting to the Hokage about their daily patrol on the village. He was about to head to the Uchiha compound to find his cousin Itachi when he felt the familiar chakra signatures of three four-year-olds. One of which was his younger cousin. Figuring that visiting the three would be better than doing nothing, he headed towards the direction of the children.

Landing quietly to the ground, Shisui scanned the surroundings, only to have his jaw- dropped at the sight. The western part of the forest was completely destroyed, with the trees uprooted and some even turned to destroyed logs. He spotted Naruto and Sasuke trying to climb their trees using only their feet, both trying to out do each other. Sakura was in the highest branch of a tree, just a few metres from the two, shouting out tips and advices and cheering them on. Immediately, he sped towards the three children.

* * *

Sakura felt Shisui's chakra signature, even before he reached the training ground. He must have seen the destruction her jutsu had caused because his chakra signature stopped a few meters from them for a minute before speeding up towards their direction. He landed on the branch a feet or two behind her and masked his presence. He must have thought that she couldn't sense him because he stayed silent in his position, carefully watching them.

She smirked. "Hello, Shisui-san!" She chirped at him and turned to face said man, or in his case, teen. He jumped slightly, not expecting her to sense him.

"A-ah, uhm. Hi, Sakura-chan!" He waved at her nervously. "What are you doing here, Shisui-san?" At this, he straightened his posture and stared at her.

"I was on my way to the compound when I sensed your chakra signature along with Naruto and Sasuke's. I came here to pay you guys a visit but I saw the destroyed western forest. What happened?" He asked at her. He was clearly worried.

Now, it was Sakura's turn to be nervous. She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She didn't want to gather attention. Gosh, why was she so careless?! She can't lie now, especially when Naruto and Sasuke saw everything that happened.

"I showed Naruto and Sasuke a technique that i have been working on. A water technique actually, one that I have created." Shisui's jaw dropped at her confession. Then, his eyes shined with excitement.

"Really?" Sakura nodded her head. "Show me! Show me!" Naruto and Sasuke's attention was on them already, both standing below the tree that Sakura and Shisui were perched into. The lone female heaved a silent sigh.

"Okay."

She jumped down the large tree and did a flip before landing gracefully and silently on the ground. Shisui followed her suite and leaped down. "Please stay here for your safety." She looked at Naruto and Sasuke who was already making themselves comfortable, then to Shisui who was standing behind them. He gave her a thumbs up and a grin. She responded by smiling and ran to the other side of the clearing. This time, to the northern part of the training ground. She flashed through a familiar set of hand signs and called out her jutsu for the second time on that day.

"Water Style: Raging Violent Seas"

And for the second time that day, the water from the small lake beneath the red bridge rose into the skies and slammed down the forest, completely obliterating it once more. She winced. Someone was gonna have a hard time cleaning up her mess. She checked her chakra reserves, she still have plenty to go around. Actually, her reserves felt untouched. She thanked the goddess once more in her mind and focused on the current situation.

She walked up at the gaping Naruto and Sasuke and a dumbfounded Shisui. She chuckled at their expressions. Even after seeing it for the second time, her best friends can't still get over it. Really, they would more awesome than her when they grow up.

"So, how was it, Shisui-san? Did I do good?" Sakura asked and sat in front of Naruto and Sasuke. Both whom had a very determined expression. Sasuke stood up followed by Naruto. The ravenette wordlessly walked up to his tree and began climbing it. Naruto turned to her, determination shining in his cerulean orbs.

"That was awesome, Sakura-chan! But I'm pretty sure that I'll be more awesome than you and teme! Just so you wait, dattebayo!" Sakura grinned at the blonde who had his chest puffed up in pride. "I'm sure you will, Naruto. Now go finish that exercise I gave you." Nodding his head, he ran up to his tree, determined to outdo his rival and finish first. The pinkette then turned to the older Uchiha in front of her.

"Uh... Shisui-san?" He snapped out of his reverie and turned to her. Eyes full of amazement. "How did you do that? Wait, are you feeling tired? Exhausted?" Sakura shook her head no.

"Are you sure?" A nod and a simple yes was her answer.

She didn't really plan this out and to be honest, nothing ever goes her way. Now she had to beg Shisui not to tell anyone. She can't have people talking about a pink-haired civilian prodigy.

"Can you keep it a secret? This, I mean. I don't like people knowing about what I can do. It's better to stay under the radar, right? That way, your enemies won't know what's coming." Shisui seems to be contemplating whether or not to agree to her.

"Convince me." Sakura had a look of shock. Seriously?! What in the name of hell is he thinking. He should keep it a secret. But then again, he didn't owe her anything to just give her what she want.

A light bulb appeared in her head and she snapped her fingers at her bright idea. "Let's spar. If you win, you can do whatever you want, but if I win, you'll keep everything you see here a secret. Is that alright, Shisui-san?" He gave her a playful grin and took her hand in his, shaking it. "Of course, Sakura-chan." Then he ruffled her hair and body flickered to the entrance of the training ground.

"See ya tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" He called out to her, then disappeared. Sakura heaved out a sigh. Well, that was unexpected.

'This is gonna be fun.'

**'Hell, yeah! Shannaro! We're gonna kick his ass!'**

Sakura smirked and turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Guys! Remember to stay calm and focus on your tree and no one else."

She got an answer of 'Got it, Sakura-chan.' from both boys and smiled. Everything seemed to slow down for Sakura before she froze.

'Wait. Did we just challenged Uchiha Shisui to a spar?'

**'Hell, yeah!'**

'You mean, The Uchiha Shisui. As in Uchiha Shisui of the Body Flicker?!'

**'Uh huh.'**

'We are doomed!'

* * *

**\- Fate: Second Chance -**

**So, sorry for the wait, I was really busy these past months. Also, my muse kinda left me hanging 'cause she took a vacation. Anyway, hope this will suffice for now.**

**On a side note, just to give you guys a heads up, I'm publishing three chapters, including this one.**

**\- Ethereal Princess**


	11. Chapter 10: Sleepover

**Chapter 10: Sleepover **

**Normal POV**

After the incident, or as Sakura liked to put it, 'the start of her doom', Sasuke and Naruto had been motivated and finished tree climbing and was working on walking on top of unmoving water for the past few hours. It was already twelve by the time they manage to do the exercise and Sakura couldn't have been more proud. They were so young yet they had already done that. Sakura called on to the two, remembering that they were supposed to have a sleepover tonight.

"Naruto, Sasuke. Go get ready for the sleepover. I'll fetch you by four- thirty." After hearing their answers of agreement, she bid the two goodbye and went on her way.

She was walking on the market place when she saw a vaguely familiar shop. Her expression brightened up at the sight. Immediately, she rushed inside the shop, excitement rushing through her. A small grin was plastered in her face.

'Perfect timing.'

**"Indeed, Saki-chan."**

She didn't reply to her inner as she entered the shop. She was greeted with the sight of various weapons displayed in the store. There were swords hanging in the display. There were also kunais, shurikens, tantos, katanas, some gauntlets and many other types of weapons.

She noticed that a lot of shinobis were in the shop. Some were looking for weapons and the others doing things she didn't bother to know. They seemed to notice her as the shop went silent and many looked at her weirdly. She ignored them. She went to the counter and because of her lack of height, only the top of her ribbon can be seen.

"Excuse me, mister." Sakura spoke softly. The man behind the counter snapped his head in front. He was about to open his mouth when he saw that no one was there. He raised a brown eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"Mister?" He frowned when he still saw no one. He looked at his other customers. One of them pointed at the front of the counter. He leaned down and saw a small pink haired girl looking up at him. He smiled at the kid and spoke.

"Hello, kid." He took a stool and placed it in front, letting Sakura step on it for the owner to see her. "Aren't you too young to be here?" Sakura tilted her head to the side. "I'm not allowed here?" She asked. She made her eyes water slowly, giving the old man her puppy dog eyes.

"Well, no one said you're not allowed here." He scratched his head slowly. Sakura instantly beamed. "Mister, I want to get a sheath for my sword. Can you make me one. I want it black with pink cherry blossoms engraved on it." She grinned at him. The owner seems to be taken aback by her request.

"Well, you should have brought the sword with ya kid. I can't make the sheath without the sword. It may not fit." Sakura took a senbon from her bun and held it in her hands. She contemplated for a second before laying the senbon on the counter. The man looked at her weirdly before laughing out.

"Kid. That's a senbon, not a sword!" The other customers laughed at her too. She let out a chuckle, making the others stop. "I didn't say that, that was the sword, mister." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Sakura touched the senbon. It let out a faint glow before reverting back to its original sword form. It's blade let out a gleam as the light from the shop touched it. She smirked at him and pointed at the blade in front of her.

"That is the sword, mister."

The man was speechless as he looked at the pinkette then to the sword then back again. The other occupants seemed to be in awe too. "Where did you get this sword?" The man asked. He observed the blade with keen eyes.

"It was a gift from a friend of mine. She used it before and she gave it to me as a gift." Sakura said. Of course some of the words she said was made up. But Sakura learned that in order to deceive other people, you must never stray too far away from the truth.

"It can change its form?" Sakura nodded. "I've never seen one of this kinds of weapons before. Do you know where your friend got this?" She shook her head no. "I'm afraid not, mister."

"Okay, I'll keep the sword for a day to finish the sheath." He eyed the blade in his hands with a glint in his eyes. Sakura recognized it as awe. She nodded her head. No one, other than her, can use the Megami no Ha. He can't use it even if he tried.

"Please take very good care of it, mister. It's very special to me." She looked at him with a look that could probably be described as sorrow. "Don't worry, kid. I'll take very good care of your blade. Does it have a name?" Sakura panicked for a bit on the inside. She can't tell him the truth.

"Takara."

"Nice name. Well, come back tomorrow at the same time as now and I'll have your sheath done." He grinned at her. "Thank you, mister!" Sakura beamed then hopped off the stool and went on her way home.

Sasuke is an Uchiha, and as an Uchiha, he was taught that the Uchihas are one of, if not, the best clans in the world, therefore, he was bound to be the best. He was, however, proven wrong when he met Haruno Sakura. The girl was born a genius, he believed. For she could do things that he was struggling to do, making them seem like a mere child's play. She puts a prodigy to shame, (excluding his aniki, of course. He was just that awesome.) when she surprises him with the new things that she can do when he, on the other hand, was still struggling to finish the single exercise that she had done the first time she tried it.

His point was once again proven when she met them the next morning, after they had the dinner to his house. She told them that the plan was no more due to someone hearing and eavesdropping on it, making it unreliable due to obvious reasons. And when they asked how she did it, she told them that she can sense chakra, just like his aniki. He was led to a conclusion that Sakura was just like his brother when she showed them an A-rank water technique that she had created for a few weeks. A few weeks!

She created a massive wall of water, a hundred foot tall and almost fifty feet in width using just the water on the small lake in the training ground. The technique was so powerful, it destroyed the a quarter of the whole forests surrounding the large training ground. And she didn't even break a single sweat. She even repeated the same technique when Shisui asked her to see it for himself.

He admitted to himself that he envied her, even if it was just a tiny seed of it, not that he would ever say it out loud but he does. He envy her. Her power, her ability, her talent. But there was one thing that young Sasuke values more than power. And it was bonds. Sakura was his friend, and dare say it, one of his best friends, along with the dobe. And envy was an evil thing that could destroy the bonds that he had created with the others. So, he crushed the mustard seed of envy in his heart and replaced it with joy, pride, determination and hope.

Joy and pride for Sakura for what she had accomplished and determination and hope for himself. He will surpass her and his brother. He just had to be patient and have faith in himself and to others.

When he returned home, he didn't tell anyone about what Sakura did. He heard her pleading to Shisui, even going as far as declaring a spar, just to keep her abilities a secret. She didn't tell them to keep it a secret. She trust them so much that she didn't feel the need to plead. Pride and joy filled his heart. Sakura trusts them with everything. He will do everything in his power not to break the trust that she had given them. That she had given him. Because she was his friend, and he was hers. That was enough of a reason for Sasuke to return the trust that she had given him, them. So, when her mother and brother asked him about his day, he told them that nothing new happened.

And when Shisui came over later that day, he said nothing too. Just being his usual self. And he knew, deep down, that Sakura had another one to trust.

Naruto values his friends more than anything in the world. He would do anything in his power to make them feel happy. And Sakura was no exception. In fact, she was one of the people he cherished the most, along with the old man Hokage, old man Teuchi, Ayame-nee-chan and begrudgingly, Sasuke-teme. She was his first ever friend. The first one, with the exception of the Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame, to approach him and not run away in fear, or shout horrible names at him.

He admires her because she can do a lot of things that he can't, and probably never be able to do. She was his role model. And his admiration to her only grew when she showed them earlier the new technique that she had created for a few weeks. He was not an idiot to not know that Sakura wanted to keep her techniques and abilities a secret. Heck, he even saw her pleading to Sasuke-teme's cousin to keep it a secret. It didn't take a genius to know that Sakura trusts them more than enough to not ask them to keep it a secret. And for that, he was thankful.

He too, trust Sakura, and sometimes, even the teme, a lot. And she was precious to him that even the thought of breaking her trust hurts him. He then decided to never ever break her trust, keeping everything valuable he knew about her a secret that he promised to take to his grave. So, when old man Hokage asked him about his day, he didn't tell him about Sakura's accomplishment. Instead, he told him about how he manage to finally finish the tree climbing exercise that Sakura made them do, and begrudgingly told him how Sasuke-teme finished on the same time as him, then continued to become his usual cheerful self.

Sakura decided that since she is the host of their current sleep over, she should take it upon herself to prepare the things they're gonna need. So, she did prepare. First, she set her bedroom. Her bed is more than enough for her and the two boys with more room to spare. She placed the blankets on one side together with the pillows. Then, took out her chest full of toys. The one without the dolls of course.

Next, she fixed herself a lunch. Her stomach let out a grumble when she forgot that it was already past lunch time and she hadn't eaten a single thing for lunch yet. A few minutes later and she finished her quick lunch. She decided that it was time to clean the house. She hadn't done a single cleaning yet for a week and a thin layer of dust was starting to cover the entire house.

Sakura let out a yelp when she tripped over a box. It was so tiny that she didn't even notice it. The large stack of paper in her hands didn't help either. She let out a frustrated sigh. She should've cleaned the house when she had the time before. She glanced at the clock on her side.

3:30 pm

One hour left before she had to fetch Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura let out another sigh for the nth time that day. She's never gonna finish cleaning in time.

**"Use clones then, duh."**

'You're a genius, Inner! Why didn't I think of that before?'

**"I know. And maybe because you're not thinking at all. Too focused on cleaning."**

'I'll take that as a compliment."

"Shadow Clone Technique"

After she ordered her clones to clean the rest of the house, she locked herself in the kitchen and started in cooking food that involves ramen, tomatoes and very other sweet things she can think of.

Forty-five minutes later, her doorbell rang. Annoyed that she got interrupted in her cooking spree, Sakura sent a clone to answer the door. The clone did not return until a minute later. And with a snap of her fingers, Sakura's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. All of the clone's memories returned to her.

Turns out, it was her supposedly babysitter, Hana-san, that visited. She asked her if she was alright and if she needed anything. Of course, being the polite child she is, Sakura politely answered, saying she would have offered her to stay and have a tea but she was cleaning the house so she can let her in. Hana-san, being the kind and caring woman she is, offered to help her, in which the pinkette politely declined once again.

The lady left a few seconds later, telling her that if she needs anything, she can call her whenever. Shrugging to herself while mentaly thanking the woman, she returned to the food she was cooking earlier.

It was finally 4:25 in the afternoon and Sakura was already making her way towards the orphanage, with a few minutes to spare. She decided to fetch Naruto first before going to Sasuke's. A minute or two of walking and Sakura reached her intended destination. She saw Naruto sitting in a bench outside the orphanage. He was all alone while the other kids played with their friends. She frowned at what she saw.

Not only were the villagers unfair to him. They also discriminate her poor best friend. Just by thinking about made the pinkette's blood boil in rage. Her alter ego scowling in agreement.

**"Cha! How dare those people mistreat my sweet little Naruto?! Aargh! I swear, when I get my hands on those bas–!"**

'Woah. Inner! Calm down. We can't harm the villagers. Let's just fetch Naruto so that we can get Sasuke sooner. It's already...'

She glanced at her watch in her wrist. She gaped at the time and cursed silently. "Shit! It's already 4:28." Shooking her head, she sprinted towards the unsuspecting blonde and tackled him in a hug. They fell to the ground with an 'oof' coming from Naruto.

"Naruto! Come on, let's go! We gotta fetch Sasuke and his house is in the other side of the village. We're gonna be late for the sleepover. Then he's gonna brood all day because we're late and we can't have that because that's gonna ruin the sleepover that I planned! And if that hap–, uh, Naruto?"

She looked down at the blonde below her. "Are you alright?" He looked blue and seemed uncomfortable. "S-sakura-chan. You're sitting on my chest. I-I can't b-breath!" Sakura gasped and immediately scrambled away from the blonde, who in turn, gasped for air.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto! I didn't mean to sit on you!" The rosette scratched the back of her head sheepishly while grinning. When his usual sun-kissed skin color returned, he returned the grin with his own much bigger one. "That's alright, Sakura-chan! Come on, let's go!"

Nodding her head, both her and Naruto ran towards the road, hand in hand, forgetting about the earlier incident. People looked at them weirdly when they passed the market place but both chose to ignore the stares. Halfway towards the Uchiha compound, Sakura stole a quick glance towards her watch. She cursed silently under her breath and skidded to a stop, making Naruto bump into her back. She took his hand in hers and spoke while the blonde fixed himself.

"Okay, Naruto. Since it's only one minute before four-thirty, we're gonna travel to Sasuke's house in a much faster way." The blonde scratched his head in confusion. "Er, how are we gonna do that, Sakura-chan?"

"Hold my hand tight and don't let go." Naruto gripped her hand tighter. "Oh, you might become dizzy for a few seconds."

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" She gave him a smile and flashed her hands through the hand signs. "We're gonna body flicker to their house." With the last hand sign done, she and Naruto disappeared in a swirl of green leaves.

They reappeared in front of the Uchiha compound, by the gates. Sakura landed smoothly while Naruto on the other hand, landed in his bottom. His backpack was slightly open, and true to what Sakura said before, he was feeling slightly dizzy. Shooking his head, he stood up and brushed the back of his shorts to remove the dirt and fixed his backpack. Sakura looked at the blonde with concern written on her face.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" He flashed her a grin and nodded his head. "Yeah, Sakura-chan! Just a little dizzy but I'll be fine! Come on, let's go get teme!" With that, he raced off to the compound. Sakura let out a chuckle before following the hyper active blonde in a much slower pace. But when the younger child called out for a race, she let out a smirk. She's not one to back out on a challenge. She sprinted past him, keeping her pace fast, but not fast enough to go full speed. Just enough to keep Naruto a few steps behind her.

They eventually reached Sasuke's house, thirty seconds late. Sasuke was already at the door, standing beside his brother who seems to be talking to him. Not wanting to intrude in their conversation, Sakura abruptly stopped in her tracks, making Naruto crash onto her back. He let out a yelp and before he can even land on the ground, Sakura already reached for his hand, gripping it in hers, preventing him from landing in his butt. The unintentional commotion caused the Uchiha brothers to turn away from their conversation, giving them their attention.

'Well, so much for not interrupting their brother time with each other.'

Sasuke's face morphed from pouty to confusion, then to realization and finally, to irritation. Sakura let out an amused smile as she watched Sasuke's face light up with all the emotions he was proudly displaying. The pinkette and the blonde neared the brothers, with Naruto having a sheepish expression while Sakura had an innocent one. Sasuke pointed an accusing finger at the two, his face red from irritation as he spoke.

"You're late! I've been waiting for over an hour for you two! Where have you been?!" Sakura pursed her lips and was about to reprimand Sasuke for his manners when Itachi beat her into it.

"Sasuke," Itachi's smooth voice called out to his younger brother. "it's rude to point your finger at someone." Sasuke blushed and bowed his head towards his brother. "Sorry, aniki." Itachi let out a smile that made Inner Sakura swoon.

'Inner, you pedophile, stop that!' Sakura reprimanded her alter ego. She heard a snort before Inner smirked.

**'Oh, come on, Outer! Remember, I'm you and you're me. Were practically the same. And come on, Itachi's smile is a once in a lifetime event. Just enjoy it. Geez, now I'm jealous of Sasuke. Itachi-sama gets to smile at him and not at us." **Sakura almost jaw-dropped at her Inner.

'What the hell, Inner?! And since when did you even call Itachi-san, 'Itachi-sama? Don't tell me you're fangirling on him? He's just what, eight? nine? We are basically twenty-one.'

**'Hmp! Well, it doesn't matter! In this time, we're four, so we're not a pedo at all. Besides, I am your hidden feelings. Gosh, he's so hot even when he's nine!'**

Mentaly rolling her eyes, she replied grumpily at her squealing Inner. 'Shut up, Inner. You're going crazy.' She receive another squeal as a reply. **'Yup! Crazy for him!' **She shook her head and blocked out all the squeals from Inner and focused her attention on the males, just in time to catch Sasuke's question.

"Why are you late anyway?" Naruto opened his mouth to speak, and by the looks of it, his answer is something that may start another verbal argument between the two. So, before he can utter a single word, Sakura beat him into it.

"Well, I was doing a little cleaning and fixing things that we're gonna need for the sleepover so I kind of lost track of time and fetched Naruto late. So we ended up here a little late. Sorry." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly and made a peace sign to Sasuke. Due to her closed eyes, she didn't see Itachi's mouth twitch upward ever-so slightly, a hint of amusement in his ebony colored orbs. Sasuke though, noticed the action and raised an eyebrow at his brother in question. The older Uchiha only tilted his head slightly, the action barely noticeable and stared at the pinkette again. This time though, Sasuke brushed the action off and turned his attention back to a frowning Naruto and a smiling Sakura.

"Well then, let's get going. We have lots and lots of fun stuffs to do." Sakura said making the blonde kid pump his fist into the air. "Alright, dattebayo! Let's go!" Sasuke 'hned' and turned to his older brother. "We'll be going now, aniki. Thank you for accompanying me while I wait for Sakura and the dobe." Naruto let out an indignant yell of protest. "Alright, be safe, otouto. You too, Sakura-san, Naruto-san." Sakura nodded her head while Naruto puffed out his chest.

"I'll take good care of them, Itachi-san. We'll return Sasuke tomorrow safe and sound." He let out a satisfied nod and bid them goodbye. "Goodbye, Itachi-san. We'll see you later." Sakura waved and followed the two boys who had just started a race to Sakura's house. The pinkette, on the other hand, walked towards the direction of her home in a much slower and calmer way, not bothering to tell Naruto and Sasuke that they took a wrong turn towards a street. Only when they were panting for breath did Naruto and Sasuke noticed that they were not in Sakura's house, making them realize that they must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Naruto was about to panic when Sakura appeared from a corner and let out a chuckle. "So, why did you stop?" The blonde whined whilst Sasuke frowned. "It's not funny, Sakura-chan." Another chuckle was heard. "Well, you just passed my house a few blocks from here. You actually took the longer route while I used a shortcut." She heard them mutter a curse. She had long since given up on getting rid of their foul language, finding out that no matter what she do, whether it be violent or not, they'll still use their colorful language over and over again. She heaved out a sigh and spoke.

"Okay, now that you finally realized your mistakes, let's get to my house. This time though, follow me so that you won't run pass my house unintentionally. You didn't even know my address! You shouldn't run off like that! You need to ask directions! What if something happens to you while I was not here?! I promised Itachi-san that I'll return you safe and sound, Sasuke! I'm pretty sure that if you get even a single, small scratch," she raised her thumb and pointer finger, as if to give emphasis on her point. "on your person. I'm absolutely sure that he'll skin me alive with a nail cutter."

"And you," she pointed at her blonde companion. "your grandfather will probably send me to the T&I Head Interrogator if he finds out that a single strand of your hair is out of its original place." Both boys sweat dropped at her comments, all the while sending her a very confused glance.

"What's a T&I?" Both boys asked at the same time, causing them to glare at each other. However, they did not proceed to their usual verbal fight. Instead, they turned their attention back to her. "You two are too young to know those kinds of things. Ask me again when you're atleast taller than me."

The Uchiha let out a frown while the Uzumaki pouted and whined loudly. "Sakura-chaaan~!" The pinkette let out a chuckle and turned on her heel. "Come on, the snacks might get cold if we don't hurry over." Even with the word snacks, Naruto and Sasuke still didn't budge from their current positions. Which was standing like two idiots in the middle of the road.

"I prepared tomatoes and ramen." That got them in their feet. Amusement shone in her eyes as she saw how easy they were manipulated using their favorite foods. Seconds later, they were already making their way towards the pinkette's house, only this time though, Sakura was leading the two boys.

It wasn't long before they reached a rather large two story house in the Shinobi district of the village. And even though Naruto had already seen much, much bigger houses and buildings than the one in front of him, he still couldn't contain the excitement that was bubbling up inside him. Sakura had barely manage to open the door before Naruto bursted into her home. A large, excited grin was marred in his face. A grin that Sakura wouldn't even dream of removing from his face. So, even when he barged into her house, she didn't scold him. Well, she can't say she didn't scold him, she did, in not as bad as what she usually does.

Which means scolding without the smacking in the head.

While Naruto was rather not-so well mannered, Sasuke on the other hand, was the total opposite. The pinkette and the blonde had already entered the house while Sasuke remained outside. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the young Uchiha, to which he returned with a grunt.

"Hn. Mother always tells us to be polite. We were told not to enter someone's house without being welcomed in by the owner." Sakura's mouth turned into an 'o' shape, which quickly morphed into a teasing grin.

"Well then, in that case," she bowed her head to her friend. "please enter my humble abode, Uchiha-sama." Sasuke made a face and snorted, but entered nonetheless. She let out a giggle and closed the door behind her, locking it for safety precautions.

When she went deeper into the house, she saw Naruto and Sasuke in the kitchen, raiding her fridge, no doubt for ramen and tomatoes. 'Polite my ass.' The pinkette let out a snort.

Making her way towards the two, she smacked their heads with a frown on her face. Naruto and Sasuke let out a surprised yelp and rubbed their throbbing heads. "What are you doing?" Asked the frowning Sakura.

"Well, you see, Sakura-chan. Erm, eh a-ah, u-uhm. Well we–" Sasuke cut the stuttering blonde off and answered the pinkette coolly. "We were looking through your fridge to look for snacks before we do whatever you prepared for us. We wouldn't want to be playing with our stomachs growling, right?" The Uchiha raised a cocky eyebrow.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched bit took a deep breath nonetheless. She knew that the young Uchiha heir had a point. "I knew that! But you could've waited for me, you know? I was gonna give you snacks to eat because I thought that it would be unkind and impolite of me not to offer you snacks when it is clearly I that offered to host this sleepover. You make me look like a bad hostess." She grumbled the last part, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted at the two.

Both boys blushed but due to different reasons. Naruto blushed because he thought of how cute the pinkette was when she pouts. And Sasuke blushed because he caught the hidden meaning behind Sakura's words, clearly embarrassed of his lack of manners. Sakura shook her head and sighed, but smiled nonetheless.

"Alright, I forgive you." Both cheered at her words, though Naruto celebrated loudly while Sasuke cheered internally. Her smile widened at the sight.

"Alright, let's get this party started!"

**Done, next chapter is up guys.**


	12. Chapter 11: Battle for Secrets

**Chapter 11: Battle for Secrets**

**Normal POV**

Dawn broke down on the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The early morning breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees and small plants and flowers making them dance softly. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon but the village was already busy. Stall owners and merchants were busy opening their stalls and stores and displaying their products, ready to start their business for the day. It was four o'clock in the morning and everything was normal.

Meanwhile, on the Haruno residence, in the Shinobi District of the Hidden Leaf, there were three lumps under the sheets on the bed in a pink colored room. Soft snoring can be heard as three children slept peacefully, tired from all the games and activities that they have done last night. Their peaceful slumber, however, was interrupted when Sakura's alarm clock rang. Its loud noise jolted the pinkette awake from her bed.

The sheets that was covering her whole body, fell off in her lap. She rubbed her eyes to remove the grogginess and reached out to the alarm clock. She pressed the snooze button, effectively turning the alarm clock off. She glanced at her surroundings, finding Naruto on her right and Sasuke on her left. The blonde's left arm was on her lap, having been fallen off along with the sheets. Sasuke on the other hand, was facing her, sleeping on his side. His left leg was in her knees, his left hand clutching her shirt.

**'Who knew that Sasuke-kun would be so clingy? If only he was that clingy to us before.' **Inner Sakura sighed dreamily. Sakura rolled her eyes at her. She let out a small smile and brushed the hair out of their faces. She gently pushed the sheets off of her lap as to not wake the two boys up. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke had always been a light sleeper. Even when she was still in the other timeline.

The young Uchiha's eyes fluttered open. He sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes as he yawned slightly. "Sakura?" The sleepiness was evident in his voice, the action making Inner Sakura swoon more. The outer, however, softened her facial expression at the ravenette. "It's okay, Sasuke. Go to sleep, it's still early." Nodding his head, he let out one final yawn before laying down again. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.

Sakura shooked her head and gently stepped over the now sleeping Sasuke. She landed on the floor without a single sound and headed towards the bathroom, stopping towards her closet to grab her training clothes before proceeding to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later, dressed in a black tank top and black spandex shorts that stopped an inch above her knee. She wore her black combat boots, strapping her kunai holster into her right thigh.

**'Alrighty, time to train! But don't push yourself too hard, Saki-chan. We'll still have to spar with Shisui-kun~' **Sakura rolled her eyes at her Inner for the second time that day. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, whatever.' This time, it was Inner Sakura's time to roll her eyes. A smile graced the outer's lips as she proceeded to the first floor. She left a shadow clone in her place beside the two boys to prevent them from worrying, before stepping outside, ready for her daily training.

\- Three and a Half Hours Later -

Sakura stumbled inside her house, barely being able to open the door before she slumped in the couch, drenched in sweat, and covered in dirt and grime. Apparently, the pinkette got a little too excited that she forgot about her Inner's warning. She was feeling double tired due to her sparring with her clone. She wiped a sweat from her eye brows and weaved a sigh.

**'What did I tell you?' **Inner's voice rang through her head. 'Sorry, just got a little carried away.' She heard a huff followed by a sigh. **'Fine. Just go and wash up already. Yuck, we are so dirty. What are you gonna tell Naruto and Sasuke if they saw us like this? Hmm?'**

Mentally rolling her eyes, she reluctantly got off of the couch and dragged herself to the bathroom on the first floor. The other one in her room was occupied by Sasuke. Besides, she didn't want the boys to see her like that. She looked like she just went on a brawl with the ground. Sighing to herself, she made her way to her parents' bathroom.

She reappeared fifteen minutes later, only clad in a towel, which was wrapped around her body tightly.

**'Saki-chan, only you can drag yourself to the bathroom and forget your clothes.' **Sakura heaved a sigh. She was contemplating on whether she would just marched into her room in all her towel-clad glory, or body flicker into her room, all the while, hiding herself in a genjutsu.

In the end, Sakura decided for the latter of the two options. Because one, she'd never live it down if she did that. And two, she didn't want to take away her two boys' innocence.

**'Eew, that sounded so wrong! Sakura, you're only four, dammit! Wait till your atleast fifteen years old!' **Sakura sweat dropped at her alter ego and made a face. 'Eew, Inner. Quit being dirty.' Her answer was a loud yell of 'NEVEEEEEERRRR!' before she heard the voice in her head laughing maniacally. Sighing to herself, she placed a genjutsu around her and body flickered to her room.

She reappeared in her room a second later. She saw Naruto sprawled in her bed, still asleep, snoring loudly. Her clone was starting to clean up the mess that they had made when they played last night. She can still sense Sasuke in the bathroom indicating that he was still in the shower. Also, she can hear the shower from her spot ,so, yeah.

Wasting no time, she undid the genjutsu on her, making sure that Naruto is still sleeping soundly. Grabbing a dark pink short sleeved shirt with the Haruno crest behind it, she paired the shirt with a black spandex shorts, like the one she wore before and slipped on her black combat boots. She dismissed the clone and all of its memories came rushing back at her. So far, nothing out of ordinary happened. Sasuke had woken up the second time three hours after she left. By that time, her clone was already cleaning after their mess. Sasuke, being raised as a gentleman by his amazing mother, offered to help. Her clone declined the help and ushered the Uchiha into the bathroom, ordering him to take a shower. The ravenette complied, all the while grumbling underneath his breath. Then her clone returned to cleaning.

Shrugging to herself, she finish cleaning her room just as she heard the shower turning off. She headed downstairs and into the kitchen. There, she prepared breakfast for her and her friends. She was just placing the eggs in the pan, cooking an omelette for them when Sasuke entered the kitchen. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was the young Uchiha.

"Sasuke, please wake Naruto up and tell him to get ready. I'll be done cooking in a few minutes." She heard a grunt, before she felt his chakra signature leaving the kitchen and enter her bedroom. Seconds later, she heard a scream, no doubt from Naruto.

"WHAT THE HELL, TEME?!"

A loud thud was heard, followed by a crash. Loud footsteps was emitted from the room before everything went silent. She heard footsteps nearing her spot, a figure stood in the doorway of the kitchen revealing a smug Sasuke. Sakura heaved a sigh.

"What did you do?"

"I woke him up and told him to get ready. Just like you asked me to do."

Rolling her eyes, she waved her hand, motioning for the boy to step closer with her back still facing him. The chair that she stood on wobbled a bit when she shifted before she stood still. "Can you set the tables for me? You can stand on the chair, the cupboards are high. The plates are on the middle part on the lower cupboard, spoons, forks and chopsticks are in the left part. Cups are in the right, both beside the plates." Sasuke stood still for a moment, trying to comprehend what his friend had said. A second later, he did what he was told while Sakura continued her cooking.

A few minutes later, Sakura had just finished placing the ramen into a big bowl. Sasuke was sitting in one of the chairs, his feet dangling on the edges, swinging it back and forth childishly. Loud footsteps can be heard as a figure raced down the flight of stairs. Naruto all but ran into the kitchen, following the wonderful smell of his beloved ramen. The pinkette suppressed a giggle at her friend's antics. Sasuke however, chose to voice out his irritation at the blonde.

"Quiet down, dobe."

Naruto glared heatedly at the young Uchiha heir. He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, a snarl marring his face. "TEME! I HATE YOU!" Both Sasukra and Sasuke cringed visibly at his loudness. "It wasn't my fault that you sleep like a log. My actions were not wrong." Sakura looked at the two, confusion clearly written in her porcelain face.

"Okay, what is going on?"

"It's the teme, Sakura-chan! He poured water on me. I was having a very good dream but he ruined it!" The pinkette heaved out a sigh. "Oh, he soaked your bed too." This time, Sakura raised her head to rub her forehead. She sighed for the second time and huffed.

"Okay, never mind the bed. Come on, breakfast is ready." At the mention of breakfast, Naruto snapped his head to the pinkette. "Did you made ramen? Please tell me you made ramen, Sakura-chan!" She nodded her head as she took the ramen bowl from the counter and placed it in the center of the table. The trio sat around the table, with Sakura at the head, Naruto in the left while Sasuke is in the right. Saying a quick thank you, they dug in on the food.

Ten thirty in the morning, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto can be seen roaming around the village. But unlike before, they didn't receive any odd stares from other people. Though, a glare or two would still be sent in their direction. Specifically, in Naruto's way. This however, would immediately be countered by either Sasuke's glare or Sakura's narrowed eyes. Naruto would either ignore the glares or act oblivious to them.

They arrived at the play ground, immediately brightening up Naruto's mood. The blonde ran at the nearing thing he saw, which coincidentally was the swing where he and Sakura first met. He jumped on the right swing, Sakura following the suite and sitting on the middle, forcing Sasuke to sit on the left. A mischievous grin was plastered on Sakura's face.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke!" Both heads turned in her direction, wearing identically confused faces. "Let's see who can swing the coolest. The losers get to treat the winner with anything." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Kind of like a contest." Both perked up at the mention of contest.

"Ha! I'm so gonna beat you up, teme!"

"Not if I beat you first, dobe!"

Both started swinging up and down, trying to outdo the other. If Naruto would swing higher, Sasuke would push harder, making him swing higher than the blonde. Then Naruto would swing harder, then Sasuke, then Naruto and back again. It took all of Sakura's will power not to laugh at their adorableness. **'They might take it the wrong way, thinking that you're laughing at their 'inability' to swing 'properly'.' **Inner whispered, then stiffled a snort when Naruto almost fell off of the swing. However, both Inner and Outer Sakura couldn't stop the giggle that slipped out of their lips when both Naruto and Sasuke accidentally fell off the swing. It turned into a full blown laugh when they planted face first into the ground.

After recovering from their fall, the blonde and the ravenette glared at each other before turning to the laughing pinkette. "Sakura-chan~" Naruto whinned. Sasuke, however, glared at her. "Hn. What are you laughing at?" Composing herself, she swallowed the last of her giggles and calmly spoke.

"Nothing. Sorry about that." A grin bloomed in her face. "Hn. Atleast we can swing." She feigned a hurt expression, placing her hand where her heart should be. "You wound me, Sasuke. I'm hurt." The ravenette turned his head in another direction.

"Hn."

She chuckled at his antics before smirking. "Might want to stand back." Her response was a confused look and an arrogantly raised dark eyebrow. Shrugging to herself, Sakura started swinging. Everytime her feet touch the ground, she would kick harder and harder until she was almost flying. Using the momentum, she propelled herself up in the air, her hands letting the ropes of the swing go. She did a double back flip, heading for Sasuke's direction. The ravenette, too shocked to do anything, just stood there, frozen. Sakura however, did a single hand stand on Sasuke's shoulder before pushing herself in the air again, doing a final backflip before landing on the ground gracefully, one knee bent while the other is kneeling.

Silence surrounded the three. Sakura awkwardly stood up from her crouching position before she dusted her shorts. The silence continues, as did the stares of both Naruto and Sasuke. A cricket chirped, a tumble weed passed by, coming from nowhere before disappearing again to who knows where and a bird flew above them. The silence stretched on, until Naruto opened his mouth to utter something.

"S-sakura-chan. T-that," he stated at his feet, his hair covering his eyes before he stared back at her, awe, amazement, joy and wonder can be seen in his bright face making Sakura sigh in relief. "THAT WAS AWESOME, DATTEBAYO!" He started jumping up and down in joy. A grin bloomed on the pinkette's porcelain face. She glanced at Sasuke. His bangs were covering his eyes, casting a shadow over them. A second later, he raised his head, determination shinning in his eyes. "Teach me."

And if possible, her grin stretched wider, with Naruto asking her to teach him too. She, of course, agreed. After all, what kind of best friend would she be if she declined that small favor?

\- Two hours later -

Naruto and Sakura loudly cheered while Sasuke settled for a smug smirk. After two hours of shouting, teaching, mocking and falling, Naruto and Sasuke had finally done the little stunt that Sakura had pulled out of nowhere. Or as Naruto so kindly dubbed it, 'The Super Duper Triple Backflip of Awesomeness'. Sakura just called it a triple backflip. The trio made their way towards the sand box. A sense of nostalgia hit her. This was the place where the members of the future Team Seven had reunited. A bittersweet smile made its way on her lips before Sakura shook her head. Soon, she was with Naruto and Sasuke, being the supposed judge of their sand castle contest again.

Shisui returned from his patrol duty once again. There were no missions for him and his team today so he was bored out of his mind. He even took a patrol around the village hoping to catch some fun, not that he wants something bad to happen. He just wants to relieve his boredom for it was slowly killing him. Heaving a soft sigh, the eleven year old trudged towards a familiar hallway.

Opening an old shogi door, he was greeted by his mother, Hisui, who was kneeling diligently, sitting on a tatami. The woman raised her head and was greeted by the sight of her son in front of the door. Immediately, her smile brightened up.

"Shi-chan! Welcome back!" The long haired Uchiha stood and welcomed her son in a hug. The young boy returned it with full-force. A few seconds later, his mother let go and sat once again. "How was your day, Shi-chan? Did anything happen? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Worry was evident in her eyes. Shisui waved his hand at his mother. "I'm fine, mom. Nothing really happened today. It's so boring. 'Tachi is on a mission again. Sasu-chan is with his friends. My friends are with their other friends." A sigh once again escaped his lips.

His mother giggled. "That's okay, Shi-chan. You'll find a way to alleviate your boredom." Just then, a series of footsteps, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing caught the attention of both Shisui and his mother. A middle aged man with midnight curly hair, fair skin and onyx eyes appeared. His tall but slim form encased the woman in a hug. "Hello, love." His soft voice rang. The woman smiled and returned the hug with her own. "Hello, Shichi." A small cough was heard and both of the adult's attention snapped back to their only son, who was grinning mischievously. "Sup, Dad?"

"Shisui!" Then the man left his wife's side and strangle his son in a chokehold, messing with his already messy curly hair. A noise of protest escaped Shisui's lips before his father let go. "So, dad, anything exciting happened?" His father brightened his smile. "Actually..."

It is true that most thought that Uchihas were cold, emotionless and heartless bastards with a hundred meter pole stuck up their asses, but not all of them are actually ice cubes. Just like Shisui and his family, who was everything and anything but normal in the whole (well, maybe not the whole) clan of Uchihas.

"So, Naruto, Sasuke. What happened to my prize?" Apparently, the boys were too caught up in their contest to pay attention to her. Sighing to herself, she pondered on what will happen on her spar against Shisui.

Sakura knew next to nothing about Shisui's abilities. Except for the most common knowledge of everyone, well, everyone in the near future that is, that he excels in genjutsu, due to his Sharingan and that he has found a perfect way to execute the body flicker. Thus, making him faster and make it seem like he's teleporting.

For all she know, almost, if not all, Uchihas are long range fighters. And while she was a little better than a high genin, she still had no chance against an elite chunin, and soon to be jounin, Shisui. And while she knew some long and mid-range jutsus, it was not enough to defeat a prodigy like Shisui.

She smacked her forehead and dragged it down her face, mentally berating herself for her idiotic tendencies. A long, insufferable sigh escaped her lips. She was starting to regret her actions. She cursed herself for being irresponsible and prepared herself for the revelation of her secret.

**'Well, who's the idiot who thought she can defeat Shisui?' **Inner's voice rang in her head. 'Oh, shut up. I panicked, okay?! I didn't even know what I was doing. What the hell am I thinking anyway, showing that jutsu to Shisui. Good thing _he _already left before we showed it to them, or else we'll be reported to the Hokage.'

**'Well, next time, avoid being careless, outer.'**

'I know, sorry.'

**'Heads up, it's almost noon. Shisui will be here soon.'**

'Wow, that rhymes. Anyway, thanks.'

**'No problem, outer. Catch'a later!'**

'Sure!'

"Sakura-chan!" The pinkette's attention snapped back to reality as Naruto's stomach growled. "I'm hungry! Let's go get ramen!"

"Tch, dobe."

"Aargh, teme!"

"Alright, alright. Let's go get lunch. I found this restaurant with exquisite meals."

"But I want ramen!"

"Dobe, no wonder you're an idiot. It's all you eat."

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

Having enough, Sakura grabbed their ears and proceeded to drag them to said restaurant.

Sakura was now on the training ground seven, along with Naruto and Sasuke and was anxiously waiting for the arrival of a certain Uchiha. Naruto, being the lovable cute little ball of sunshine and hope he is, reassured Sakura that everything will be fine. Sasuke however, chose to cheer her on subtly.

"Shisui is an idiot. Make advantage of that." And by a giant stroke of fate, Shisui chose that time to poof into existence behind the younger Uchiha. A grin was on his face. Sasuke flinched a bit, a sign of surprise while Naruto jumped. Sakura just wished that she won't die here to finish her mission. And with a subtle gulp, she faced the prodigy.

"Hi, Sakura-chan! Are you ready?" Shisui's grin never faltered. Sakura nodded, before taking a deep breath. She relaxed as soon as she saw Naruto's encouraging smile and Sasuke's reassuring smirk.

She took her place a few meters infront of Shisui while the latter took a couple of steps back. Sakura's posture was rigid and stiff, alert for anything. Shisui on the other hand, was very very relaxed. Too relaxed. She felt the familiar feeling of genjutsu surrounding her. She cursed silently before dispelling the genjutsu, just in time to dodge a punch coming her way.

The fight had began. They engaged in a taijutsu battle. Shisui threw a punch her way, she blocked with both her hands, wincing inwardly at the impact. She returned it with a punch of her own, which was caught by Shisui, throwing her across the field. She cursed at the shortness of her hands and her lack of height.

She was at a disadvantage, they both knew that. And Shisui took advantage of that. He didn't give her time to recover before he sent an axe kick her way. Sakura rolled to her left before disappearing. Using Shisui's surprise she sent a chakra enhanced punch in his back. The Uchiha dodged the attack with ease, frustrating the pinkette. She knew he was only toying with her because if he fought her seriously, she would've been down seconds after the start of the spar.

She didn't give up though, she sent a barrage of kicks and punches on her opponent. All were either blocked or dodge by the dark haired male. This frustrated her further.

**'He's not even using his Sharingan yet and he can evade our attacks like it was a mere child's play.'**

'Damn it! Sasuke said he's an idio–. THAT'S IT!'

**'What's i– ooooh. Great idea. Go for it!'**

'Ofcourse~'

She set her plan into action. She feigned a left hook and Shisui made a move to block them, only to tumble to the ground by the force of a swift kick to his side. She made a move to punch him, but before she could move, he sent a kick in her gut, sending her hauling in the trees. On the side of the clearing, Naruto and Sasuke gasped silently. Then, she promptly disappeared in the trees. Shisui scanned his surroundings for her chakra, and was supposed to speak when she threw a kunai at him.

He spotted a paper bomb attached to them, making him dodge quickly before an explosion rang through the whole training ground. It was only a small explosion but it had been there. Shisui briefly wondered how she got those before he dodged another flurry of kunai from the other end of the clearing. He took one of his own and moved to block the kunais thrown his way with deadly accuracy to his vital points.

Once the rain of kunai ended, he sent the kunais in his hand to the pinkette's direction. She dodged the others and before the others could even hit her, she had already replaced herself with a log. The log turned to splinters.

'Damn it!'

**'Ninjutsu?'**

'No choice.'

She flashed through a series of hand signs. "Water Style: Raging Waves Technique!" A jet of water sped towards Shisui, which he countered with his own technique. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique." The two jutsus met at the center creating mist as the after effects. When the mist cleared, Naruto and Sasuke saw Sakura on her stomach with a kunai in her throat, held by a grinning Shisui.

Shisui retracted the kunai and helped the younger kid back on her feet. Nervousness was written on her face. Shisui turned to face her and before she can even utter a single syllable, Shisui already spoke.

"I will keep your secret." A pause. Then a startled Sakura faced Shisui. Giving her no time to speak, Shisui already continued his earlier sentence. "I can understand why you want to keep it a secret. After all, it would be a disadvantage at the battlefield if you're opponent already knows your techniques. And besides, it's your choice anyway. I have no right to just ramble your secrets to anyone." By the time he was done speaking, Sakura already had tears in her eyes.

She must have eaten something weird because what she did next was not in her control. Or Inner's either. It was just how her body reacted on what he had said that made her envelop the older kid in a hard embrace. Shisui returned it whole heartedly, and then ruffled her hair playfully. A smile appeared in her face.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's get your friends. I'll treat you dango." If possible, her smile widened as they made their way towards a gaping Naruto and a scowling Sasuke. Apparently, they were not happy with the result, with Naruto stating that Sakura had hold back in their fight.

In the end, Shisui ended up treating the three children dangos and Sakura gained a new trustworthy friend.

Sakura slumped down in the couch on the living room. She was utterly exhausted due to Naruto and Sasuke's plan to get rid of Shisui. Apparently, they don't like anyone stealing 'their' Sakura-chan. The worst part was, they didn't even bother to hide it. So, she spent the whole day being dragged by the blonde and the young ravenette.

Which led her to this. Who knew being dragged by the two was more exhausting than training?

**'Well, Shisui-kun's actions was a surprise to me, but at least everything went well in the end.' **Sakura purposely ignored the new honorific in Shisui's name as she made a sound of agreement at the back of her throat.

'Mom and dad will return home soon.'

**'I miss them .'**

'Same.'

Sakura made her way towards her room and plopped down into her bed, not even bothering to shower. She said a quick goodnight to her Inner and fell into a deep slumber, dreaming about the bright future that her friends and everyone will have, should she complete her very important mission.

**So, it might be a while before I update again, so yeah. Anyways, thanks to those who favourite and follow this story, as well as me. Thanks guys.**


	13. Chapter 12: Village Hidden in the Mist

**Okay, so when I first published this chapter, it came out encoded. You know, with all the encrypted things. I was in a hurry when I posted this first so I didn't notice it until two people reviewed. Anyway, thanks about that, Blitzstrahl and Naasica. I wouldn't have noticed it if you didn't point it out. Not to worry though, cause I fixed it. Hope it turns out fine this time. Oh, also, to compensate for the inconvenience, I'm updating another chapter. So yeah, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Normal POV**

It was around four-thirty in the morning when Sakura had sensed her parents' chakra signature near their house. She continued to pretend to sleep, all the while still sensing their chakra signature. She felt them stop on the front door before continuing. Her mother stopped at the kitchen while her father continued to make his way towards their bedroom. He passed hers and paused. He opened the door, not a sound passing. Sakura evened out her breathing and continued to pretend to sleep.

Kizashi looked at his daughter fondly, quietly entering her room. He stopped on her bedside and knelt beside her, brushing her hair softly. He placed a gentle kiss on her adorably large forehead and stood. He made his way towards the door where Mebuki stood, watching the scene play in her eyes fondly.

"She's asleep. Let's not wake her up." Mebuki nodded her head and made her way towards their room. Kizashi closed the door, following his wife shortly after.

* * *

A loud ringing resounded in the room as Sakura's alarm clock rang loudly. And once again, her hand reached out to turn it off, only to smash it into tiny splinters. She sighed once again, only to freeze as she felt two large chakra signatures in her parents' bedroom. She relaxes when she recognizes it as her parents' and a large, happy grin emerged in her face.

Jumping out of the bed, like a five-year-old would do, she dashed to the direction of the bathroom and feigned the need to pee. Thirty seconds later, her small feet padded through the floors of their hallway. She noticed the door slightly open and peaked through the small space.

She can immediately tell that her parents were faking their sleep, judging by the way their breathing patterns have changed within the second.

**'They probably thought that they can fool us! Ha! Watch out, mom, dad! We've been training every second! Hahahahahahaha!'**

Sakura sweat dropped as her Inner cackled evilly. 'Well, let's just pretend that we don't know. Okay, Inner?' Inner continued to cackle causing her to choke. 'Idiot.' She tuned out her alter ego before she can even retort. She plastered a smile in her face and ran towards her parents' room, pretending to notice it on the way to the bathroom, making sure to let her footsteps rang in the large room. She jumped in the bed and onto her parents. A grunt was heard before Sakura's laughter rang in the whole room.

"DADDYYYYYY! MOOOMMYYYYY!"

Kizashi chuckled at his daughter, meanwhile Mebuki wrapped her arms around her daughter's waist and sat up, taking and sitting her in her lap. She then proceeded to bounce her up and down. "Hello, Sacchan. Miss us? Cause we do, we do, we do!" Sakura shrieked in childish happiness as her mother cooed her. "I miss you too, mommy and daddy."

The couple watched as their only child ramble about her whole week and couldn't help the smile that bloomed on their faces. "Sacchan?" Sakura stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at her mother with a sheepish smile. "Yes, mommy?"

"Do you want to see the presents that we got for you?" At her daughter's excited squeal, Mebuki smiled and let out a chuckle. The rest of the day was spent with Sakura and her parents catching up with each other. Unfortunately, she forgot a certain gift that was given to her by a certain deity. Completely. Fortunately, Inner didn't. And she wasn't pleased with her Outer's forgetfulness.

* * *

**'Ahem.'**

Sakura knew that voice and was currently wondering why her Inner would interrupt her sleep during an ungodly hour. Said ungodly hour turned out to be nine-thirty in the morning. Unfortunately, Sakura didn't know this and completely thought that it was still very early in the morning. The pinkette promptly went back to sleep. However, Inner was having none of that. She was having a very bad and sour mood, due to the fact that Sakura had completely forgotten about the beloved sword that the Rabbit Goddess had gifted them.

So, she decided to confront the still-sleeping, source-of-the-problem, Outer.

**'Outer-chan, wake up now. You forgot the sword yesterday!'**

Sakura mumbled something under her breath before falling fast asleep again. Inner Sakura was never patient, her Outer out of all people would know that. Therefore, she did the only logical explanation with her as Sakura's Inner.

She screamed. LOUD.

* * *

Sakura jolted up in bed and clutched her head. She let out a groan before rubbing her ears.

"Inner, what the hell?" Her sleepiness was evident in her mumbled words.

**'The sword, Outer. The sword!'** Her eyes widened and all the grogginess and sleepiness left her body. "Shit." The single word made Sakura scramble out of her bed and dash to the bathroom. Five minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed. She grabbed her money pouch, her weapons, put on her boots and dashed out of the door as quietly as she could. She wouldn't want to wake up her parents when they should be resting from their mission.

It was still early in the morning, to Sakura that is, but many people were already out. She had already gotten used to it and continued to make her way to the weapon shop. Apparently, she was not expecting _her_ to face her in the store.

There, in the counter of the shop sat a slightly sleepy Tenten. She was a lot younger from what Sakura could remember but that was to be expected. Tenten in this timeline is only five years old. Only a year older than her. And while Sakura had expected to meet her and everyone else, due to the fact that it was inevitable, she had not expected to meet her this early. Apparently, nothing ever goes her way.

Tenten's head snapped to her and beamed, her lips stretch out to create a smile, a single tooth was missing on her mouth. Specifically, her upper left canine. The brunette greeted her with much enthusiasm that was misplaced due to the earliness of the time. Tenten hopped off the stool she had been sitting on and approached her.

"Are you the one who owns the pretty sword? Dad said that the owner of the sword was a pink haired girl with green eyes who look like my age. You fit the description. Are you her?"

Sakura nodded dumbly before offering a smile. "Yeah, it's mine. I'm here to pick it off 'cause I forgot to do so yesterday." The brunette nodded her head. "Wait here, I'll get it. Dad is sick so I have to help him in the shop." She gave a short "sure" before Tenten dashed off in the backroom. She emerged three minutes later, holding a too long sword. This time, with a sheath.

"Here," Tenten held out her hands. "Dad finished it before he got sick. He wanted to give it to you personally, but mom scolded him and told him to stay in bed." The rosette nodded before taking the sword in her own hands. She reached for her pocket, grabbing a handful of bills. She counted for a few seconds before handing the brunette the money. Meanwhile, Tenten's eyes widened, she stuttered before holding more than half of the money to Sakura. "T-this is too m-much! I–"

"Please," Sakura cut her off before she can continue. "take them. Consider it as a thank you to your father and besides, he is sick. Oh, and if you're still not convinced, think of it as a gift from your friend." She gave her a warm smile before inclining her head to the older child and walking out of the shop. "Tell your Dad to get well soon, Tenten-chan!" The poor brunette was left spluttering, but deep down, she felt happy to find another friend aside from the cute black haired boy with a thick brows. Snapping out of her reverie, the girl shrugged and muttered to herself. "The more the merrier. Maybe I'll invite her to play with Lee and me later."

It didn't even occur to her that the pink haired girl and her didn't exchanged names. Nor did she remember ever telling the girl her name.

* * *

Tenten didn't caught her slip up, but Sakura did. She silently cursed herself and her luck. She prayed to the deities that Tenten didn't notice it, or else, she would get suspicious. Well, as suspicious a five year old can get. But, still, she was pretty sure that Tenten is smart. She can only wish against her luck that today can be an exception.

She fell into a familiar route towards the Training Ground 7, sealing her sword into her scroll, she began her daily routine of warming up, taking a jog around Konoha for five or so times before continuing with her accuracy and control. She thought of her plans and how nothing seems to go in her way. With that, she fell into a deep thought, thinking about the future. She didn't notice the time and her hunger until a few hours later and Naruto and Sasuke already appeared. Thankfully, she had been practicing her katas when they found her and not some sort of super strong jutsu.

* * *

It was dinner time when her parents told her something that was going to mess up with her plans, whether she likes it to or not. And that something made her choke on her food, hard.

"W-whaat?" Sakura gasped as she tried to swallow her dinner. "I d-don't understand. Can you please repeat that again, mommy?"

She pretended that she can't understand, but in all reality, she can. And she's cursing every deity, yes, even Kaguya, out there for her horrendous luck. Though, she was probably more calm about it than Inner, who found no problem in cursing in her head out loud.

**'Shit! Damn it! Fuck no!Fucking no! No way in fucking hell! Never, damn it!'**

'Inner, stop with the cursing.'

Her mother smiled and repeated her announcement. Very much unaware of her daughter's inner turmoil.

"I said, we're going to Mist for six months to visit your grandfather. Isn't it exciting?" Surely, her parents were excited, but she sure as hell is not. Just thinking about all the pros and cons that it might bring is starting to give her a gigantic headache. Or perhaps it was a migraine. Cause she was starting to feel bile at the back of her throat.

"But, mommy. What about my friends here? Surely, they would be upset that I'm leaving so suddenly. And, and. And the Academy will start five months from now. Can I just stay? Promise I'll be good. I don't want to miss out my first month. Please?" She used her ultimate weapon, aside from her fist, against her parents. Something that even Ino-chan would be so jealous about. The puppy dog eyes, ultimate version.

Unfortunately, her parents seemed to be immune with her ultimate version because her father just chuckled and reach out to ruffle her hair. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, like every four-year-old would do when they didn't get what they wanted. Her mother smiled at her, a smile that clearly said she had no say about it.

"Sweetie, I'm sure Naruto-chan and Sasuke-chan can understand it. Besides,we'll leave next week, dear. You can spend all the time you want with them during those days. Plus, youre a smart kid, Sacchan. You can catch-up with them. It's just a month after all."

Her mother may not be wrong about that part about her catching up easy, but she sounded a little bit too confident in her. Hell, if she wasn't future-Sakura, she might be able to catch up with them, but that would be after a few more months. And that, that would be troublesome.

**'Tell me about it.'**

'Seriously, being stuck with a weeping Gai-sensei and Lee is better than being stuck there where there's a possibility that we might meet Zabuza and Haku. Or worse, Kisame.'

Inner Sakura jaw-dropped.

**'Outer, you said that there's a...'** She trailed off. 'Yeah, yeah, I know. I said that there's a possibility that we might meet Zabuza and Haku. Or that fish-face, Kisame. You know what, Inner? I don't know what's worse. Those duo, or that shark-faced asshole.'

**'Outer, do you know what that means?'**

'Do I know what that means? Of course I know what that means. It means that—! Oh.'

**'Yeah, Outer. Oh. You thinking what I'm thinking?'**

'We literally have the same brain, Inner. Of course I know what you're thinking. But I must say, I'm impressed. Didn't know you had it in you.'

**'I don't know whether I should take that as an insult or as a compliment. Cause either way, you're still referring to yourself you know?'**

'Shut up. I have a plan.'

**'Wow, your plan's brilliant.'**

'Thanks, I try.' Clearing her throat, she mustered another pout and a defeated and overly dramatic sigh.

"Fine. I'll come. But only because I like to see Grandpa too. Though, I still don't understand why we should take that long." Her mother smiled and her father grinned. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and spoke. "Well, cupcake, if you really are gonna miss your friends that much, I guess we could cut off our vacation in three months." Her mother smiled knowingly. Outside, she showed a face of disbelief, relief and surprise, but on the inside, she was narrowing her eyes. Her mother's smile is deceiving.

"Really, daddy?!" Kizashi nodded his head in confirmation. "But, I guess you don't want to find out what the special training your grandpa has for you." Her ears perked up at the words 'special training'. Now she's curious and interested.

"But I guess that's okay. You'll be with your friends sooner and you will be able to attend the first month of the academy with them." Well, shit. Now she's doomed. Oh, well.

"Fine! Six months!" Her parents cheered childishly.

"So, daddy, mommy. What's the special training?" She asked curiously. Her father motioned with his hand and she scooted closer to him. Her mother did the same, with her dad on the left and her mom on the right. They cupped their hand on both sides of her ear and whispered, as if sharing a secret.

* * *

A walking disaster. Three words that would describe Sakura right now. A walking disaster on anyone who tries to get in her way to the park. That is why everyone, yes, everyone, tried to steer clearing off of the path of the kid who stalked off the road like she was gonna kill. Well, with an expression and irritation like that, she might as well be. It's not good that she's keeping it all in. She should let all her irritations go.

But you're probably wondering why she's like that. Well...

(Inside her head)

'I can't believe them! I can't believe them, Inner! They tricked me!' Inner Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.

**'Well, technically, I was tricked too. But then again, you should've seen it coming. After all, we both know that they already predicted our reaction beforehand, therefore, they have prepared a counter-action for our reactions.'**

'Seriously, Inner. You made it sound like they prepared a battle plan.' Her alter ego shrugged before lying down the bed that magically poofed into existence out of nowhere. **'Whatever. I need beauty sleep, Saki-chan. All these thinking and being a know-it-all is hurting my brain.'** Sakura deadpanned at her Inner before shaking her head. She focused on the road, a surprised expression plastered in her face.

"I guess we've arrived already." Shrugging to herself, she located Naruto and Sasuke's location, who were, for once, earlier than her. Another shrug before she made her way towards them.

She wasn't really surprised at scene that layed out in front of her. Seriously? This was actually starting to get too old. Just so happens that she's in a bad mood and that a perfect opportunity for her to loosen up a bit presented itself to her.

"Naruto. Sasuke. Come." Her tone made them stop in their usual banter and turn to look at her. Her face was deadly serious as she returned their curious gazes with an annoyed glare. "Come." They didn't need to be told twice, cause seriously? An annoyed Sakura plus a disobedient them is equals to a very sore head donning a very large bump.

She lead them to a very familiar training ground. This time, their small fear and worry turned to excitement. Because if there was one thing that Sasuke and Naruto agrees on, it was that they both love training. Sakura stopped at the center of the clearing and smiled at the duo.

"I have something important to say." Her smile turned into a sad one. "But before that, let's spar. There's a catch though." Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow and Naruto's expression turned into an extremely curious one. "You will have to work together to defeat me. If you beat me into the spar, I'll tell what the important matter is and I'll treat you both to lunch and snacks for the rest of the week. That includes your beloved ramen, Naruto." She heard Sasuke grumble and chuckled quietly. " So does your tomatoes, Sasuke." This time, the Uchiha stopped grumbling and turned to her, smirking.

"You sure , Sakura?" Tch. Damn Uchihas and their sky-high egos. Well, she'll be sure to wipe that smirk off his face.

**'Sheesh, Outer. They're just kids. Take it easy, okay?'**

'Whatever.' She was answered with an eye roll and a silent **'tch'** from her alter ego.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. We don't want to hurt you." Naruto really just had to speak. Oh well.

"What, you don't want does free lunches and snacks? Or are you just afraid that you won't beat me?" With her smug tone and expression, Naruto and Sasuke attacked her.

* * *

She wasn't the least surprised by the outcome of their little spar. After all, Naruto and Sasuke may grow up to be powerhouses, but she was armed with years and years of experience and knowledge, therefore, the result was pretty much predictable. Even without using chakra too much, she can still beat them. But she couldn't say that she wasn't impressed. Quite the contrary actually. She was very very impressed. She didn't expect them to work together like she had said. At first, they attacked her on their own, but after a few minutes later, she was surprised to see Sasuke motion to the blonde while Naruto reluctantly came to retreat with him. With a raised brow, she discreetly followed her boys, only to find them planning a counterattack.

Pride swelled up in her chest. She had never been so proud to her bestfriends. To see them working together was a miracle. With that, she returned to the clearing and waited.

* * *

Sakura sat by the bridge, her feet dangling off the edge. Naruto and Sasuke flanking her side, each donning a pout.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaannnnn~. Please? Just one large bowl, please." Naruto continued to whine. It wasn't his fault though. He just really want ramen. Sakura shooked her head no. This time, Naruto whined louder. The pinkette turned her head towards a subtly pouting Uchiha. He met her gaze head on.

"Hn." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not you too, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"I didn't cheat. You just so happen to underestimate me. That's all. I won fair and square." She raised her brow at the brooding ravenette.

"Hn." She heaved a sigh. "Sasuke, the deal was to win against me. Then and only then will I tell you what the important information is."

"Hn." Seriously, she was starting to get annoyed with this kid. Just because she can understand the 'Uchiha language' doesn't mean that he has to abuse it.

"For the last time, Sasuke. No." She moved and stood up. She started walking away when she heard a sigh. She looked back and ultimately regretted it. Naruto and Sasuke's expression mirrored that of a kicked puppy. A defeated sigh came out of her before she beckoned for them to follow her.

"Alright, let's go. I'll treat you snacks and lunch." This time, both cheered openly, even little Sasuke. "But only for today, got it?" With a chorus of 'yes, ma'am' and a mock salute, the trio made their way towards the market place.

* * *

"Guys, I know this is pretty sudden but I'm leaving next week." Both boys choked on their ramen, Sasuke, more subtly than Naruto.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

"Mom and Dad decided that it would be a pretty good idea for us to have a vacation on Mist."

"Mist?!" This time, it was Sasuke. "What the, Sakura. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" She knew this would be hard.

"Well, it was also pretty sudden actually. I just found out not too long ago. I, of course, asked to stay. But unfortunately, they wouldn't let me."

"How long will you be gone, Sakura-chan?"

"Six months. Were leaving next week. I'm sorry." Naruto hugged her, his hug getting tighter by the second. "Promise, you'll be back?" She didn't miss the hint of sadness and desperation in his voice. A sad smile found its way on her face. She returned the hug full force. "I promise, Naruto. It's not like I'll stay there forever. Just for half-a-year." The hug tightened. Meanwhile, Sasuke looked at the two and sighed. His eyes widened as Sakura pulled him into the hug. But soon enough, he returned the hug.

"Six months, Sakura. Six months. Any longer and I'll be dragging the dobe with me to retrieve you." Sakura laughed and gave Sasuke mock salute. "Yes, sir."

Well, at least everything went better than she expected.

* * *

Seven days went by faster than Sakura would have liked and before she knew it, it was already time for them to go. Sasuke was there, along with Naruto and Shisui to bid them goodbye. Ino came rushing towards the gate, a bouquet in hand with her mother in tow. And even though she had notified them earlier of her and her family's departure to Mist, some tears and threats were still sent her way. Sakura was reminded to write letter to Naruto, Sasuke and Ino seperately. She even promised to write to Shisui too. Oh, and did I mention that she still had to write for Naruto, Sasuke and Shisui in a single letter addressed to the three of them?

All in all, everything went well and before she knew it, they were already walking towards the port where they are going to rent a boat and ride all the way to Mist. As they traveled, Sakura briefly noted that she didn't get to properly introduce her boys to Ino and vice versa. Only included each other in some conversations spent with them. She shrugged and shook her head. She's pretty sure they can get along well.

_(Back in Konoha)_

"Let's go, dobe. Aniki promised to train with me today. He said it's okay if you tag along too." Sasuke spoke monotonously. Naruto grumbled but tagged along as Sasuke walked towards the direction of the Uchiha compound. Shisui bowed towards the Yamanaka matriarch before he followed after the duo.

Inora, Ino's mother tugged her daughter's hand, their cue to leave, but it seems like Ino was frozen in her place. A look of awe was plastered in her face before a deep blush overcame her features. With a knowing smile, Inora lead Ino to their flower shop. Meanwhile, on the way, Ino couldn't help but think about the cute black haired boy that threatened Sakura earlier. A warm feeling in her chest was evident in her as she continued to daydream about the young Uchiha.

Seems like history repeated itself once again.

* * *

She can't say that she was pleased with the journey, but she certainly have had worse. The five-day journey was pretty boring. She had nothing to do but sit there, jog around the boat for a bit, eat, do some katas, a few physical training then lunch, read some scrolls about medical theories or new techniques or just lay around and think about her plans. Fortunately, her boring times gave her many hours and hours of opportunity to perfect her course of action during her stay in Mist. In the previous timeline, she didn't get the chance or opportunity to visit Mist when she was a kid and her first trip towards the Water Country was when they had the mission in Wave.

Though she may not admit it, but she had a feeling that the change will really start from here and if the future change too much, it will be harder to predict and plan her next move in order to ensure her dream future for her team and loved ones.

She was snapped out of her reverie when she heard footsteps heading towards her room inside the cabin of the boat. The chakra signature was that of her father's, therefore, her guard was slightly down. A smile was plastered in her father's slightly tanned face.

"Hey, princess. How's it going?" A pout made its way on her face making her father chuckle. "It's boring here. When will we arrive?" Another chuckle, before her father motioned her to stand up. "Actually, princess, we're here." Her expression turned to that of a surprise, before running pass her father and made her way up to the ship's dock. The sight in front of her made her gasp.

Everything was covered in Mist that you an barely see anything, but when they reached the port, the sight that greeted them was more than enough of a compensation for their long journey. The port was covered in mist, illuminated by the ethereal glow of the moon. The port looks exactly as the one in Fire but you can see the hint of the Water Country culture and tradition in the way the port and the buildings around it was built. The lights from the open establishments only added to the beauty of the place. Her breath hitched as her father proudly stood in front of her, facing the port, with his arms stretched wide beside him and spoke.

"Haruno Sakura, welcome to the Village Hidden in the Mist." Then he turned around and faced her. "So, was the journey worth it?" With her mind still foggy and her eyes still dazed, she can only nod and murmur softly. "Worth it, it was totally, totally worth it."

* * *

**You might see a slight change in Inner Sakura. You might have noticed that she became a bit more intellectual than Sakura on this chapter. Well, the reason for this is that, I wanted to show a different side of Inner Sakura. I wanted to show that she does not act purely based on her emotions but also thinks first before she acts. This side of her is a bit more rational and logical. I hope I did a good job in showing that. For those who don't like this change, don't worry. Inner Sakura's more serious side only appears on serious situations.**

**Anyway, arigatou and gomen for the mixed up.**


	14. Chapter 13: One Step At a Time

**Normal POV**

As soon a their ship docked, her parents immediately set out to pack their things in order to get ready for their trip to her grandparents' house. Though, still a little bit stunned by the place's beauty, Sakura did not let herself be deceived by the appearance of the village, for she knew just why it will be called the Bloody Mist in the near future.

As soon as their things were ready, they set out to the other side of the village, near it's outskirts. Two men, who were waiting by the docks, approached them and immediately set out to carry their luggage. Her parents didn't seem to mind, instead, her mother smiled at the men as her father grinned. The men bowed before they waited as her parents started to walk. She followed her parents while the men stayed back a few steps behind them and followed their suite. Her father grabbed hold of her arms and grinned at her, before her carried her in his arms, her mother smiling at her husband's antics.

As they walked through the village, Sakura noticed that the civil war has not yet affected the villagers, leading her to the conclusion that it was just about to start. The calm before the storm, people would say. The village is still prospering, and Sakura couldn't bear the thought of what would happen to the village once the civil wars starts. Deep in thought, she didn't noticed the surprised looks of the villagers around them and how they would immediately bow to her parents, who would bow back, only, a lot higher than the people. There were some curious looks sent her way but she brushed it off, thinking they were looking at her hair. After all, you don't see a cherry blossom pink-haired child around everyday. Or every night, depending on whether how you consider it, cause it's still night time. Anyway...

She looked at the men behind them and carefully studied their features. The man on the right, carrying three luggage was the first one she assessed. He had a tall built, about six foot in height, with pale skin, dark red hair and sky blue eyes. He looked gruff and very moody. Her attention then, turned to the man on the left, who was also carrying another three luggage. This one is a bit shorter than the other, standing up to about five' nine. He has crimson red hair, pale skin and golden eyes. He looked more friendly than the other, and is wearing a smile on his face.

With their appearance aside, Sakura knows a ninja when she sees one, being one herself, and she can tell that these two are very experienced in the shinobi arts. Scars littered their hands, and though they try to hide it, she can sense a huge amount of chakra in each of them. She doesn't know who they are but she trusts her parents. If her parents trusts that they won't attack, she'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The village was a relatively large one, with mist constantly covering some places, and most of the time, the docks and places near the water. When the mist gets thick enough, you can see almost nothing or worse, nothing at all. But they don't call it the Village Hidden in the Mist for nothing. So, when a thick mist came and surround hem, it didn't surprised her at all. The two ninjas behind them walked closer. Sakura narrowed her eyes, still suspicious of them.

It took a while for the mist to start to lessen and you can now see silhouettes if you squint hard enough. Due to the fact that Sakura's spiritual body is the only one that traveled back, her body does not have the same abilities that she gained through some training, and therefore, needed chakra to aid her in her vision through the mist. Carefully placing a bit of chakra into her eyes as to not alert anyone that she is using chakra, especially her parents, she focused her vision around her, especially ahead of them, and noticed that the two shinobis behind them disappeared. Her eyes widened and tried to sense them without her parents noticing.

In front of her, she located the two shinobis and gasp silently when she sensed over a hundred more of them. The mist dispersed slowly and Sakura planned to act out her plan before the mist disappeared. A second was all she need to replace herself with her clone that she made when the mist disappeared all of a sudden, and she felt a flare of chakra in front of her. Her body tensed, preparing to attack or defend, only to hear her father's amused laugh. And it sure did stun her alright.

"Hahaha, still a show-off, I see." Her head turned to the direction of her father's vision and saw a snow-haired man with an equally pale skin. His hair was short, barely brushing his shoulders. His lips were a light pink and his eyes were the most beautiful shade of mint she had ever seen. His posture was that of an experienced shinobi, though his aura screamed mischievousness, cunning and power.

"Still obnoxious, as always." The man spoke, his tone as gentle as the snow, yet as cold ice. Her father laughed harder and set her down. She immediately went behind her mother's legs, not because she was scared of the man. Oh, no, but because he was eyeing her like a predator would to a prey, only, in the most gentle way. If that was even possible. She looked at him cautiously. He possessed a large amount of chakra that he tries to hide, though, she can still sense it fairly well.

Her mother smiled widely and grabbed her hand. She walked towards the stranger and hugged him tightly. Again, she was surprised. Seriously? "Welcome back, Mebuki." His tone was loving and caring, his eyes softened and once again, turned to her. Mebuki grinned at the man and caressed her daughter's hair unconsciously.

"Well, let us get you settled down, will you?" The man spoke once more and looked pointedly at Sakura. "Little Sakura-chan must be tired from all the traveling that you went through." She narrowed her eyes fractionally. Her mother snapped out of her daze. "Oh, yes, how silly of me. Sakura-chan, meet Yukito Fuyuno, my older brother and your uncle."

**"Uncle?"** Due to the fact that even Inner was surprised, their guard was lowered and Inner's voice rang out of her outer's.

On the outside, her tone was a little darker than her usual one, but her parents brushed it off as shock. Her 'uncle' gazed at her harder, noticing the change in tone. He gave her a knowing look and smiled knowingly. "Well, come in. Father is waiting for you, Mebuki." Her mother nodded and her father carried her once again and they made their way towards the huge gate that she didn't noticed earlier. The other people behind her so-called uncle disappeared with a gesture of his hand.

As her parents and her 'uncle' made their way inside, her gaze roamed the compound. It looks like the Uchiha's but only a lot more older. Like it was already built here even before the village was established. Her mind was still puzzled because her parents never mentioned anything about her having an uncle and her mother coming from a clan. Heck, she never even went to visit her grandfather in the Mist before. It was also the first time that she will meet her grandfather in both timelines.

Both Inner and Outer Sakura wondered.

**'If nothing of this ever happened in the other timeline...'**

'Then what happened that changed this part of the other past?'

That was the question that was left unanswered, until several years later, when they find out the very reason of this huge change.

* * *

The walk towards her grandfather's house was painstakingly slow. People continue to bow towards them, then her parents and uncle would bow back. And then the cycle would repeat again. Now, Sakura was usually a very patient person, but she was really curious, tensed, cautious, nervous and at the same time, giddy at the thought of meeting her grandfather that she didn't even know that was still alive at the time, until her parents told her. And, her childish tendencies might also be a reason, being a child and all. Besides, she was getting rather sleepy, being night and all.

A few minutes in reality was like a few hours for her. It was taking too long. Her patience were wearing thin and was about to whine, yes, whine, to her mother when they suddenly stopped. They stood in front of a large traditional house that seemed to stretch out to forever. There were shogi doors that littered the house, each of them surely leading to different rooms. They entered the one in the center, the largest door of all, and definitely the main entrance. Inside, she can see that there were more resemblance in the two compounds.

Though, this compound was definitely older than the Uchiha's back in Konoha and there was a bit difference between them. This compound has a more homey feeling in it. The Uchihas' liked to present their power, even inside their home, almost suffocating you with the aura alone, if you had a weak will. But this compound, you would definitely feel at home. But Sakura could practically taste the deception in the air. The homey feeling was intentional, making you lower your guard, then strike you at your weakest moments.

Or at least, that's what she thought. She sighed silently, she really was getting sleepy.

They walked through a series of long and wide corridors, all the while her father carried her. And even though the corridors were only lit by candles, with occasional light bulbs here and there, she can still see the picture frames hanged in the walls of the corridor. She saw a meduim sized one, with her so-called uncle, she still didn't trust him, and her mother, back when they were still young. She also saw a particularly large one with their family picture, though she still wasn't sure, cause she's never saw her grandparents' faces before.

Sakura was so busy looking at the paintings that she nearly didn't notice her father stopping and entering a room, following her mother and her 'uncle'. The room was exactly what you would see in a traditional room of clans. There were shoji doors that connected the room to the other rooms, a low table placed in the center of the room, a tatami mat layed down on the floor and frames with elegant and delicate calligraphy.

On the table sat an old man, about the age of her shishou, maybe older. His light blonde hair, almost white, reached his chest, tied in a low ponytail. His eyes were a deep shade of green that sometimes becomes an emerald, much like hers, when hit with light in the right angle. His skin was as pale as her 'uncle's', though, she can spot a freckle or two in his cheeks. His body is a little bit on the bulky side for she could see traces of muscles from the traditional kimono that he wore. A sign that he went through rough training and possibly, missions.

His eyes were as cold as ice as he stared at the papers on top of his desk, still not acknowledging their presence. Yukito stepped forward and bowed in front of his father, both of his hands on the ground, his forehead resting on the back of his palm.

"Father, they are here."

The old man looked at his son, eyes as cold as ever. But the longer Sakura stared at his eyes, the more she was sure that she saw something flash for a second, then disappear. Her father just rolled his eyes at the two, not that she can see it anyway. Behind them, she saw her mother shake her head in exasperation. She made her way towards her father who looked at her with calculating eyes. She placed her hands on her father's shoulder before hugging him tightly.

"Enough with the games now, Father. Sakura is already on her way to sleep now, you can't prank her like you did to her father before."

Sakura's head snapped to her mother, eyebrows raising high on her forehead. She saw her grandfather's shoulders slumped and he sighed. He chuckled quite loudly before shaking his head.

"Seriously, Mebuki," he looked up at his daughter. "Still such a kill joy." He looked at Yukito, now standing and is smirking at him. "It seems you need to try better next time, Father."

Said man pouted slightly, while Sakura stared at him dumbfounded. Kizashi laughed at her reaction, making Mebuki, Yukito, and their father's attention to snap at them, particularly on Sakura. Her grandfather grinned brightly at her, his grin rivaling that of her father's. He stood up while Kizashi placed her down. Sakura, now standing at her feet, looked at the old man cautiously.

"Hello, little one. Sakura, right?" Sakura nodded her head, still wary of the weird man. Yes, she thought of him weird. I mean, her mother was a serious person. Sure, she joke and laugh with them sometimes but on most occasions, she was the most serious of the whole family. Though, she knows that it was because her mother just wants the best for her family. If she didn't know that her father is native to the Fire Country, she would've mistaken this man for her dad's father.

"Well, forgive this old man for frightening you. You are not scared of grandpa, right?" This question made her mentally raise an eyebrow. Seriously, her? Frightened? Huh, she'd seen much colder people than her grandfather's little act, Fugaku and Hiashi included. Oh, let us not forget the heirs of the Uchiha clan in the other timeline. Seriously, those two needed to see a psychiatrist, they have serious problems. Good thing they won't be needing that this time around then.

Oh, if only Inner was awake and can see this, she would laugh her ass off. Anyway, she shook her head no at her grandfather, whose grin became even wider. He reached down and ruffled her hair, which she answered with a pout. He chuckled at her expense. Her grandfather looked up at her father, his grin mirroring his.

"Seems like you've got yourselves a brave girl here, Kizashi." Said man grinned wider and nodded.

"Yup, and quite prodigious too." Her grandfather laughed boisterously.

"Well, I'm not surprised there. It does run in the family." Her mother and uncle rolled their eyes at their obnoxious father. Her father only chuckled. She watched at the scene before disinterestedly. She inwardly sighed before screaming loudly in her head. The sudden disturbance in her mindscape's peace woke Inner Sakura up, who proceeded to yell profanities and decided to brag her colorful language.

'What the hell, Outer? Can't you just freaking shut up for a fucking minute? Can't you see that I am doing my damn best to get my freaking beauty sleep? Do you know how hard it is to―!'

'Okay, Inner, I'm sorry. I'm just really annoyed right now.'

'And you think that waking me up will sate your annoyance?' Inner's exasperation was evident in her voice. A vein popped out of her forehead when her Outer whistled a tune innocently.

'You just wanted to share your annoyance, do you?' It was more of a statement rather than a question, really. To which Sakura's answer was a grin and a peace sign. Sighing, Inner sat down and closed her eyes. Then begun to laugh. She particularly laughed at the scene where her grandfather thought she was scared of him. Not that she can tell actually, but she felt it inside her that, that is exactly what her grandfather thought she felt. After all, who would think of a four-year-old pink-haired child as anything but shy, kind-hearted and innocent? Certainly no one. No one except those who really knew her.

**'Geez, now I'll wish that you actually woke me up earlier, Outer. This is hilarious.'** Sakura deadpanned at her Inner.

'Look, I know that it's funny but your reaction is seriously out of place. That's overreacting.' Inner glared at her.

**'Hey, I'm your emotions hidden in the deepest, darkest part of you. So this is your real reaction.'**

'Whatever.' Inner smirked, knowing that she won their little banter.

Sakura continued to stare at her grandfather, who ruffled her hair. She felt herself getting drowsy and was not able to resist the urge to yawn. The people in the room chuckled at her rubbing her eyes as she tries to fight off her sleepiness. Finally, her grandfather turned at her mother, a smile in his face.

"Well, proper introductions will have to wait tomorrow. Seems like little Sakura is already sleepy." Her mother nodded, she motioned for her husband and Kizashi picked Sakura up. Her mother turned to her father and brother and bowed, Kizashi doing the same thing, only a little higher in order to not disturbed Sakura too much.

Sakura yawn once more before wrapping her tiny arms around her father's neck, burying her face in its crook. They walked through the hall way, turning right there and left here. She was barely awake when they stopped in front of a shoji door. Her parents entered the room, their stuff already arranged, with their beds in places and ready. Her father lay her down the bed in the right side, right next to the wall, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

Her parents looked at her fondly, each giving her a goodnight's kiss and a whisper of 'sweet dreams' before walking out of the room and entering the one exactly in front of Sakura's, their room.

* * *

The next day, at the edge of the village, in her maternal family's compound, Sakura can be seen in her bed, still fast asleep and snoring gently. On the other side of the village, another Sakura can be seen walking around aimlessly. She had been wandering around for almost two hours now. Her shadow clone making sure that they (meaning her parents, uncle and grandfather) do not find anything suspicious or clue that will lead them to believe that she had left.

Why she was out in the village in the middle of the day and not with her family was beyond her. She didn't know herself either. Though, she did have a weird clenching in her gut that was definitely not a sign of hunger 'cause she forgot to eat breakfast. So far, the village was okay, though, you could literally feel the tension in the air due to the brewing civil war.

Due to the fact that cold weather was not accustomed on Konoha, unless of course it was Fall or Winter, she brought with her a very thick jacket, yes, jacket in the middle of summer, in order to prevent herself from freezing from the cold. If she had been her seventeen year old self, she would just roll with it, but alas, she's back in her four year old body. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't see the wall she was headed into until Inner shouted at her.

**'Watch out!'**

With her instincts and reflexes, she stopped herself from being an embarrassment and from hitting the wall. She turned to a corner and found herself facing a lump underneath all the trash. How she got here was a mystery even to the both of them, but anyway. She studied the lump cautiously, especially because it took the shape of a human. She stepped closer and closer until she was just an arms-length away from the lump.

The form was too tiny too be a grown up and too big to be a baby. She could tell that it was freezing because it was visibly shaking. She stepped closer and she heard Inner gasp while she sucked in a breath.

'No way. It's ...'

There was no denying it. He may be younger than when she met him but she can definitely make out the features that connects him to that person. Her heart bled figuratively at the sight in front of him. He looks so hurt and so sad and so lonely and–, she stopped herself from thinking anymore. She took the jacket she was wearing, and though it was small for the boy, it was better than nothing. She looked at him in sympathy.

Her heart was willing for her to take him with her, where he'll be safer and more taken cared off, but her mind, Inner, was telling her no. Besides, he was better off with Zabuza anyway. After all, some things are better left alone and untouched. She reached in her pocket and took a handful of money she bought with her. She placed it in her jackets pocket and took a step back. She looked at him one last time, before heading back to her family's compound, his troubled and sad face still not leaving her mind.

Next time she saw him, she would make sure that he's fending for himself better. With that thought, she flashed through a series of hand signs before disappearing in a swirl of cherry blossoms.


	15. Chapter 14: Changed

Okay, so I just recently saw that even Cruisegirl86 gave me a heads up about the mess that is the previous chapter twelve. Thanks to you too. I don't really get to visit my account or email that often, so I'm sorry if I don't reply to all those who have reviewed. But, don't fret, I'll do my best to reply to you all. It might not be as soon as you sent it, but I will, eventually. Anyways, sorry for the long wait, I'm busy, sorta, so I wasn't able to visit any of my online accounts, nor update. But here it is, hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Changed**

**Normal POV**

It might have been a few minutes, it might have been a few hours. Or maybe just a few seconds. To be honest, Sakura doesn't know. What she did know is that she was asleep, and that she was woken up by the sound of soft footsteps in front of her room. It might have been her parents, but the chakra signature says otherwise. The signature was familiar, but whoever that person is, she doesn't recognize them enough to familiarize with their chakra signature. And she can't help but tense as the chakra signature stopped directly in front of her room.

Sure, she found out that her mother was apparently a part of this Fuyuno Clan, but you can't blame her if she still felt distrustful to these people. She didn't even know anyone in this clan, apart from her uncle and grandfather, which she still doesn't trust one bit. For all she know, it might be someone who bears ill will and has plans to harm her. Though, if that was really the case, they will have a hard time disposing of her. She was not training hard just to die in some vacation to her mother's village or something. That would be embarrassing.

She closed her eyes and laboured her breathing, just in time as the door in her room slid open and a person entered. She can feel danger in the chakra signature as it roamed around in her room. She felt her heart rate increase a little bit and tense. Inner was silently freaking out inside her head, silently screaming 'danger'. She tried to calm herself and Inner, and at the same time, try to slow down her heartbeat. Steeling herself, she murmured something along the lines of 'her mommy and daddy not leaving her, and Naru-chan and Sasu-chan to stop fighting'. And to make her acting believable, she mildly thrashed her head to the side. She felt the stranger tense and near her. A hand reached out and touched her shoulder, only for her to jump and look around frantically.

The stranger looked surprised for a second and took a step back. Sakura looked around and when she saw that her parents were not present in the room, she made her eyes water and start to sniff and sob. The stranger panicked a bit as she sensed their chakra flailing slightly.

"Hey, kid. W-why-why are you crying. L-look, I'll go get your parents kid, just-. Damnit, stop crying!" At this, Sakura wailed and started to cry harder, all the while calling for her parents.

"M-mommy! Da-daddy!" She sniffed and sob and wailed louder and harder, making the stranger panic even more. "Shit! I'll get your parents, s-stay here and please stop crying." The stranger scrambled to get out of her room.

When she sensed that the stranger's chakra is away from hearing distance, she let a snicker escape from her lips. Meanwhile, Inner was rolling on her mindscape's floor, clutching her aching sides from her uncontrollable laughter. Then proceeded to bang the floor with her fists.

'Finished yet, Inner?' Sakura raised an elegant eyebrow, though she was still snickering at the stranger.

**'Oh my, O-outer! That-hahaha that was hilarious! Y-you totally p-played him! That was awesome!'**

'What can I say, I have a great teacher.' Inner made a face.

**'Great? You mean awesome teacher. Because I'm pretty sure I'm really awesome.' **Sakura smirked at her Inner. 'I didn't say it was you, Inner. I meant Shishou. Though, that would probably suite her better.' Inner pouted and sniffed.

**'That was mean. I hate you.'** Sakura chuckled and shook her head.

'Love you too, Inner.'

**'Hmmpp.'**

When Sakura sensed the stranger's chakra, along with her parents, her waterworks once again started as she sniffed, sob, and cry. Her parents were in her room in no time, fusing at her. Both had worried faces, their eyes and hands looking and feeling for any source of discomfort for her. Her father picked her up, while her mother held her face between her hands.

"Sacchan, honey, tell mommy what's wrong. Come on, hush now." Her mother looked like she was ready to snatch her from her father's arms.

"Yeah, princess, come on, we're here now. What's wrong?" Her father held her a little tighter, wiping her tears.

"I-I thought you we-were gone and then I saw that stranger in my room, so I thought he was gonna take me away! I was really scared mommy. I thought you and daddy left me." Sakura pointedly stared at the stranger, who looked at her parents sheepishly.

**'Yeah, right. Great job, Outer! Best Actress of the Year Award goes to you!'** Inner cheered in her head, and Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

'Shush, you're distracting me, Inner.'

"Sorry, Sacchan. We sent Enjo to get you. Guess we forgot that you still don't know anyone in the clan, besides from your uncle and grandfather. You see, your grandfather was planning on introducing you to the clan formally." Her father chuckled at her deadpanned expression.

**'They've only just realized it now?'** Sakura inwardly sweat dropped, and shook her head at her parents.

"Mommy, Daddy." She wiped some tears left from her eyes. "That's mean. You forgot about me, and sent a stranger to fetch me. He could've gotten hurt, you know. Good thing I played it nicely." She crossed her arms over her chest, making her parents, and Enjo sweat drop.

"I don't think he's in any real danger back then, princess. He's an elite ninja, you know." Her father chuckled at her, making her mother glare at her husband. Sakura wiggled out of her father's grasp and pouted at him.

"You don't trust my abilities, daddy?" Her father's eyes widened and shook his head. "No, of course I trust you, princess."

"Hmmpp, who's he anyway?" So, yeah. Sakura knew she was acting like a brat, but what do you expect from a four-year-old like her? Especially since she really didn't know anyone here, and whatever.

"He's name is Fuyuno Enjo, Sacchan. He's your distant cousin." Enjo grinned at her, reminding her of a certain Uchiha, then proceeded to bow.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sakura-sama. And, sorry about earlier."

She nodded at him and disregarded the suffix added in her name as she studied him carefully. He has pale blond hair, almost white, reaching his lower back, and tied in a low ponytail. A few bangs left, framing his unmarred face. His eyes were a deep shade of sapphire, which was only complimented even more by his pale skin. He has a lean built, though you could see the outline of muscles from his shirt. He looks to be about five feet in height, though his face showed his young age. In other words, he looks gorgeous, making Inner drool a bit.

**'Outer-chan, how come we didn't notice this nice piece of hot meat earlier. Damn, why does this always happen to us? Whyyyy?'** Sakura raised a brow.

'What do you mean always?'

**'The good looking ones are always, ALWAYS, not allowed.' **Sakura shook her head.

'Seriously, Inner. That guy's our cousin. He's a no-no. Besides, he looks to be about the same age of Shisui.'

**'Exactly. And so? Shisui's still hot. What's the deal with seven or eight year age gap?'**

'Inner, I think you're forgetting that we are physically four years old. And that Shisui is about thirteen years old and-, wait, why was Shisui included in the conversation again?'

**'Cause he's hot, and is about the same age as our equally hot cousin. Which is, by the way, a distant cousin.' **Sakura looked at her with a deadpanned expression, noticing the emphasis on the word 'distant'.

'You are a huge pervert, Inner. A huge pervert. And don't go telling me that I'm you, you're distracting me and making us look funny in front of our parents and that guy.'

**'Fine, you win. But Enjo-kun is still hot, and so is Shisui. Oh, and don't forget Itachi. Aaaaandd-.'**

'Inner.' Sakura gave her a reprimanding look.

**'Fine, fine. Sheesh.'**

Sakura sighed, receiving questioning looks from her parents and cousin. She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, only for her stomach to growl loudly. Her parents shared a chuckle while Enjo tried to hide a snicker. Sakura blushed red and looked away. Her mother picked her up this time and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face.

"Let's get you breakfast now, Sacchan."

Sakura only nodded and hid her face in her mother's neck. They left the room, with Enjo following them. On the way, Sakura couldn't help but feel curious towards her cousin, and thus, continued to stare at him the whole way. At some point, Enjo caught her stare and grinned at her, making her blush and once again hide in her mother's neck. She silently curse Inner in her mind, making the latter cackle in some twisted delight.

During breakfast, she was joined by her parents, and Enjo, who was about to excuse himself when her mother invited him for breakfast. He, well, let's just say he values his life as to not reject her mother's offer. Even her father was obviously sweating nervously in his seat when her mother asked Enjo to stay. Her mother seems to have some plans to get her and this cousin of hers close soon because she was seated next to him, even though there were plenty of space for him to move a little bit farther from her. A single look from her mother stopped her from scooting a little farther.

The food were served by servants, surprising Sakura a little bit. She thought about how much power her grandfather held if he has servants serving under him. Her grandfather must be one of the clan's elder or councilmen. Yeah, that must be it. The food served were that of the Fire Country, making Sakura raise an eyebrow. She shrugged, before digging in after her parents each took a bite.

Her parents chatted with Enjo but Sakura chose not to participate, she decided to speak only when spoken too. Though, she still kept her ears open for their conversation.

"Enjo-kun, I didn't get to ask you this before, but are you planning on entering the Anbu?" Her mother regarded him with a wilting look, but her cousin merely smiled charmingly.

"I have been weighing my options, but I chose to wait a little bit before entering the Anbu, Mebuki-sama." He answered her carefully, though, Sakura was sure that was only because he didn't want to disappoint or upset her mother. She can be really scary if she wanted to. Her mother chuckled before answering.

"Oh, Enjo-kun, how many times do I have to tell you to call me auntie? Mebuki-sama makes me feel old." Enjo bowed a bit before grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry, Mebuki-sama, I mean, auntie." He rubbed the back of his head. "Old habits die hard." Mebuki once again chuckled. She was about to speak when her husband beat her to it.

"So, Enjo-kun, care to share why you decided to wait a little more? After all, you're just thirteen years-old yet you're already a jounin. You're already hailed as one of the clan's prodigies. Not that we're pressuring you to do so, just curious." Kizashi chuckled nervously at the glare Mebuki sent in his way. Enjo merely laughed while Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes at her father's antics.

"Actually, Kizashi-sama, I-." He was cut off by her father who corrected him by saying, "uncle", before flashing a grin at her mother who rolled her eyes at him.

"Uhm, actually, uncle, auntie, may I request we discuss this privately? I don't think Sakura-sama will be able to, uhh, uhm-,'' Sakura rolled her eyes and cut him off.

"It's okay, uhm, Enjo-san. **I don't really want to hear it. I'm done eating anyway, so I'll just be in my room if you ever need me.**"

Sakura stood up, and quickly turned her back to them before striding towards her room. Her parents stared at her worriedly, while Enjo looked surprised. For some reason, he was feeling guilty about the girl, though he didn't know why. He bowed to Mebuki and Kizashi and was about to stand up to follow Sakura when Mebuki raised a hand to stop him. She shook her head before speaking worriedly.

"Enjo-kun, I think it's best if we leave Sacchan alone for now. You see, when she's in a bad mood, she tends to throw a tantrum and—" A crash was heard followed by a loud thud. "Destroy stuff." Kizashi and Mebuki sweat dropped and turned to the teen.

"So... About our conversation pertaining your entrance in the Anbu?"

Enjo chuckled nervously, before speaking. In the back of his mind hid the growing seed of curiosity for the young pinkette who has a, well, let's just say, an interesting personality.

* * *

Sakura entered the room, confusion clouding her mind. She was moving without really willing herself to do it. Deep in thought, she bumped into the study table beside her bed which threw her out of balance and fell into the floor with a loud thud, but not before the impact of the collision shook the lampshade, which fell to the floor in a, (in Inner's very humble opinion), not-so-loud crash. Sakura huffed and gathered the broken lampshade before placing it in a corner. She'll have to throw it out later to prevent anyone from getting wounded. She sat down in her bed, her body still feeling like not her own. She closed her eyes and saw a frowning Inner Sakura.

'Inner, what the hell?' Sakura glared at her Inner who was grinning at her sheepishly.

**'Sorry, Outer. I don't know what got into me. I guess I don't like the guy very much.'**

'Really, huh. You were just drooling for him a minute ago, squealing about how hot he is, and now you're claiming that you don't like him after all?'

**'Well, I don't know. I felt like he was trying to hog our parents for himself.'** Sakura raised an eyebrow at her.

'Seriously, Inner?'

**'What? He said he wanted to speak to them privately, he wanted some time alone with them. You know I don't like secrets being kept from me. And he must be thinking that we can't understand whatever it is that they're about to talk about. He's underestimating us, how old does he think we are? Freaking four?'** Inner huffed angrily. Sakura stifled a giggle. Inner was being childish and irrational.

'Well, Inner. Technically, since only our mind travelled back in time, we're still four physically.'

**'Oh, well, whatever. Hot or not, he's still hogging mother and father.'** Sakura chuckled. She stared at Inner when a thought suddenly struck her.

'Hey, Inner?'

**'What?'** Her mind flashed back to when her body moved on its own. Inner, being her, well, inner mind, saw this and a look of realization dawned into her.

**'Oh, about that, huh?'** Sakura nodded. Inner donned her thinking pose, rubbing her chin with her fingers. **'Hmmm, let's see. I don't really know how that happened. All I remember is that I was really mad at Enjo-kun.'** Sakura raised an eyebrow at the suffix but stayed silent. **'Then I started to speak, then walked out. I was really mad at that time so I paid no mind to where I was going. All I really thought about was how mad I was and I needed to leave soon before I do more. I didn't think about how we got here until you had that flashback.'**

Sakura stayed silent, processing the information Inner gave her. She narrowed her eyes in concentration before snapping her fingers.

'I think I get it, Inner. When you feel strong emotions, or will yourself hard enough, you can gain control in our body. Even without my permission.' Realization dawned to her.

**'So...'** Inner looked at her as she speak. **'We both know that this will have pros and cons, right?' **Sakura nodded. 'But how come this only happened now?' She stared at her feet, before noticing that it had turned completely black. She raised her pyjamas and saw that her whole lower limb had turned black too. She raised her shirt, the black pigment in her skin reached her navel.

'Inner?'

**'The hell is that?'**

'I don't know.'

She raised a hand to touch it. As soon as her fingers touched the darkened skin, the dark pigment slowly receded, gathering together in her navel, before disappearing completely. Sakura stared at her now pale skin. She raised her pyjamas only to find it back to her normal skin colour.

'Uhh, Inner? What just happened?' Sakura asked in bewilderment.

**'I have no idea, Outer. Wait, maybe it's a seal.'**

'A what?'

**'A seal.'**

'Yeah, I know, but how can you tell it's a seal? Have you sensed any foreign chakra from the, whatever it is?'

**'No, but, isn't that what a seal looks like when it calms down? Like with Naruto and Sasuke's seal?'**

'Well, yeah. But wouldn't we feel a foreign chakra from the seal? And wouldn't there be markings from the creation of the seal and to identify it?'

**'Point taken. But, still, there's a possibility.'**

'You're right. We need to be careful here even more. For all we know, this seal may mess up our chakra, that's why we can't sense any chakra from this.'

**'Right.'**

'Now what?'

**'I don't know, a lot has happened this morning. I want to take a nap. I feel exhausted.'**

'Sure, thanks Inner.'

**'Shucks, you're welcome. Get some sleep too, Outer. Maybe we can write letters to Sasu-chan, Naru-chan, Ino-chan, and everyone else when we wake up.'**

'Hmm, good idea, Inner.'

**'Hmm hmm.'**

Sakura chuckled quietly, before closing her eyes and drifting into a hopefully, long nap.

* * *

It had been a long nap. A few hours at best. This time, Sakura woke up with the feeling of soft hands softly brushing her hair along with the constant massaging of her scalp. She resisted the urge to purr at the soft hands. It almost felt like her mother's. Her eyes snapped open at the thought and she scrambled away from the hand. She looked up, expecting to find Enjo, or another stranger, only to look straight in her mother's eyes. Immediately, she jumped in her mother's arms, and was caught in her mother's embrace. Mebuki smiled softly. Sakura's mood can really change easily.

"Mommy?" Sakura stared at her mother who met her gaze.

"Yes, Sacchan?"

"Mommy, I would just like to say sorry for my behaviour earlier. I didn't really mean what I said to Enjo-san, or how I acted before. I guess I kind of woke up in the wrong side of the bed. I mean, when I woke, I found a stranger in my room with you and dad nowhere to be found. Then, he wants to hog you all for himself. I was really mad at him, though he seems nice, so I talked to him badly, and I think that I made him upset because of my behaviour. I mean, he was only being nice to me, he always smiles, you know, so I thought-." Mebuki chuckled as her daughter ranted. She placed a finger in her lips to shut her up.

"That's okay, Sacchan. You're a child after all, it's normal for your age to have temper tantrums." Sakura mentally flinched at the words. She glanced at Inner Sakura who was, well, still taking a nap in a floating cloud that serves as her bed in her mindscape. How she got the cloud was still a mystery, even to her. She shook her head and her mother continued to speak.

"Don't worry, Enjo-kun only wants to discuss about, well, clan matters. But, even though you didn't mean it, you still have to apologize to him, okay? What you did was not very nice." Sakura nodded at her mother.

"I'm sorry, mommy. I'll go apologize to Enjo-san as soon as I see him." Mebuki smiled at her daughter.

"Great. Now, why don't we clean you up, it's already afternoon, Sacchan. You stink." Her mother made a face, making Sakura pout. Mebuki laughed at her daughter. She pinched her cheeks as she spoke.

"Just kidding, Sacchan. Now, bath time."

Sakura sighed inwardly. She'll have to write those letters later then, she needs to take a bath now.

After she took a bath, her mother made her wear another dress, claiming that she's not going to train today. She told her that she will properly meet her grandfather and uncle today, and prepare for her introduction to the clan. Sakura was confused as to why she would need to be introduced to the clan, but she trusts her mother so she waited for her mother to explain to her.

They are currently headed towards her grandfather's study room. Her mother didn't tell her why, but like before, she waited for her mother to explain everything to her herself. She was getting a little dizzy looking at the same corridor over and over again, the hallway style never changing. They would turn left, then right to another hallway, which has the same design again. She sighed and looked at her mother.

She felt Inner shift uncomfortably in her mindscape. She saw something move from her peripheral vision. She glanced at it subtly, narrowing her eyes when she saw the door waver, like that of a mirage. Shock ran through her and she stared at her mother at the corner of her eye. Her mother looks very calm, not feeling at danger at all. Sakura clenched her fist. How could she not notice? After all this time, they were under a genjutsu, and she didn't even noticed it?

She sent a small flare of chakra, muttering under her breath.

"Genjutsu: Kai."

The illusion melted away, revealing that they had already arrived at her grandfather's study room, who was looking at her with something akin to surprise before changing to proudness. She narrowed her eyes and looked at her mother at the corner of her eyes. Her mother was smiling knowingly, making Sakura stifle a sigh. Her mother was sure to have something to do with this whole 'trapping in a genjutsu' thing. Her expression told her so.

She waited for someone to say something. Just so happens that, that someone, turns out to be her grandfather.

"Hello, Sakura-chan. How are you feeling today?" He smiled at her charmingly. Sakura can see that even his old age cannot hide his beautiful features. She was not able to look at him properly yesterday for she was feeling drowsy, now, she can study him freely.

"I'm feeling fine, grandfather. Thank you for welcoming us here." Her grandfather laughed, his deep baritone voice echoing lightly at the room. His deep viridian eyes were shinning with glee and the laugh lines beside his eyes creased slightly. He leaned forward, dragging with him a thick lock of his long blonde, almost silver hair. His long fringe dangling in front of his eyes, ending a few inches from his chiseled jaw, almost touching his collarbone that was peeking slightly from his yukata.

"No need to thank me, Sakura-chan. You're family, so of course you're welcome. You will always be welcomed here." Sakura smiled politely, her mother chuckling at her as she watched the interaction between her daughter and father. "Thank you, grandfather." This time, it was her grandfather who chuckled.

"Anyway, we have not been able to properly meet and introduce each other yesterday. You did arrived quite late last night." Sakura nodded, then the old man continued speaking.

"Sakura-chan, I am Fuyuno Tsubasa. The Clan Head of the Fuyuno Clan."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The way they were welcomed and greeted in the village like some royalty, how many shinobis accompanied her uncle just to welcome them, the servants in the household, and how Enjo-san called her 'Sakura-sama'. Surprised would be a big understatement. She was absolutely shell-shocked. She knew she should be feeling happy, she found out she had other relatives and that she belonged to a clan. But somehow, for some reason, she felt cheated. Betrayed.

She had lived her whole life thinking that she had earned everything she had because of her determination to be strong, to prove herself to be strong enough to step forward and stand by her teammates' side. She had lived that whole life, thinking that even though her parents were both jounins, she had been born into a civilian family, that she was a second-generation shinobi. She had thought that she was clanless, when all this time, all this entire damn time, she was not.

Her mother belonged to a clan. She belonged to a clan. A ninja clan. How come she didn't know any of this in the other timeline? Why was everything starting to change so drastically? What had she done in this timeline that she didn't in the other?

Was it her decision to agree to her parents and travel to Kiri? She did not remember travelling to Kiri when she was only four in the other timeline. If so, the how come that they didn't try to reach out to them? How come she didn't know any relatives from her mother's side before? How come she didn't hear anything from them before? Why was this happening now? What changed now?

She was snapped out of her train of thoughts when a hand descended upon her shoulder. She looked up and saw her mother looking at her worriedly.

"Sacchan? Are you okay?" She held back her tears. It would be questionable if she would cry for no reason. She inhaled deeply and instead of answering her mother, she nodded her head. Her grandfather shifted in his seat.

"Sakura-chan, I know it is very hard to take in. We've only just met now after hearing nothing from us. Perhaps you need time to process all of this." He looked up and met her mother's gaze. They seemed to have some kind of silent conversation because her mother nodded her head. She scooped her in her arms and silently made their way through the series of similarly patterned corridor walls. Nothing was said between them, but her mother hugged her tightly as she carried her.

They stopped in front of her room, entering it quietly. She was placed down on her bed, her mother sitting beside her. Her mother gently brushed her hair, this time, she decided to speak up.

"Mommy?" Her mother paused for a second, before continuing to brush her hair. "Yes, Sacchan?"

"Grandfather said that he's the Clan Head, does that mean that you're an heiress? And uncle too, he's an heir too, right?" Her mother chuckled lightly.

"Yes, Sacchan. Though, since I'm married and have you, Sacchan, that also makes you an immediate heir." Sakura turned and looked at her.

"Really?" She asked. Her mother chuckled once again, thinking about how quickly her mood changes.

Though, she may look excited on the outside, but she can still feel the betrayal, the pain of being deceived. To whom, she didn't know. But she can't let her parents worry. She'll have to sort through her emotions later. Because for once, Inner was not around to comfort her.

"Yes, Sacchan, really." She squealed and jumped in her bed.

"Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino-chan needs to know about this. I'm so excited. Can I write the letters now, mommy?" She squealed. Her mother laughed as she continued to jump in her bed.

"Alright, alright. You can write your letters now. I'll just leave for a bit because I need to speak to your grandfather, is that alright with you, Sacchan?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, mommy. Take your time, I have lots and lots to tell my friends." Mebuki chuckled and hugged her. "Everything you need is on the drawer, Sacchan. I'll be back right away." She nodded.

She watched her mother leave the room, before a frown made its way on her face. She made her way towards the drawer and took an empty scroll. She took the brush and gently dipped it into the ink before starting to write.

Many things are happening around her, which did not happen in the other timeline. Many things have changed, and if things continues to get out of hand, everything will be for naught. She'll have to act soon, or else, everything will go out of control and she'll be too late.

For now, she needed to send letters to them soon. It had been weeks after all. She missed them already.

* * *

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Tell me your opinions, and please, if you see any misspelling, incorrect grammar or anything, please notify me. I would really appreciate that, because I honestly don't edit my chapters. As soon as I'm done writing it, I immediately publish it, so yeah.

Anyways, see you in my next update. Hopefully, it won't take another few months or so again.


	16. Chapter 15: Almost

**Chapter 15: Almost**

**Normal POV**

About fifty minutes after Sakura left, thirty minutes since they arrived at the Uchiha clan compound, and approximately fifteen minutes since his brother started teaching them, and Sasuke thinks that he might blow up any second now.

The moment they made their way towards the compound, Naruto was already whining, saying how he missed his Sakura-chan already, that six months were a very, very long time, not that it wasn't, and that they should catch up with her and convince her to not go to wherever she was going. Or better yet, come with her so that they can leave the village and go to different places with her. It didn't stop until they arrived at the compound, with Naruto still yelling, whining and pouting all the way. Sasuke, on the other hand, was constantly glaring at the blonde, often telling him to shut up and deal with it, with his eyes twitching and a scowl on his pale face.

It didn't help that Shisui was just grinning at them, constantly agreeing with something that Naruto said, which only made him yell louder, and made Sasuke's scowl grow deeper.

Fortunately, Naruto stopped whining as soon as they arrived at the compound and entered his home. Shisui immediately made a beeline towards the kitchen, knowing that Mikoto would be there, brewing tea or making a light snack. Sasuke and Naruto followed him, and found him sitting beside Itachi, who was sipping his tea. Mikoto was just serving dango, anmitsu, anko dumplings, and, Naruto's mouth watered upon seeing this, ramen. He looked at Mikoto in awe, as if she was a goddess and grinned. She chuckled and gestured for him to sit. Sasuke grinned at his mother when she served a tomato soup, with freshly cut tomatoes.

They conversed while they had their snack, with Shisui and Naruto chatting amiably along with Sasuke. Itachi would occasionally say something, adding his opinions and thoughts in the conversation. After finishing up, Itachi led them through the Uchiha training grounds, near the great lake where the heir would usually practice his fire techniques.

Which brought them here, fifteen minutes later, practicing their, well, he didn't really know what they were really doing. They were just practicing their throwing aim with blunt kunais but then, after a series of mysterious and unexplained events, it turned into a taijutsu training. Though, it probably looked like they were just brawling and rolling in the ground because when he caught his brother's gaze, there was something akin to amusement and mirth in his eyes, along with a faint, almost undetectable, smile.

Oh, and Shisui was busy laughing his ass off.

He glared hard at his laughing cousin, before kicking Naruto off of him. He immediately stood up, with Naruto doing the same thing. They jumped a little further away from each other, and as onyx met sapphire, they sped towards each other. They didn't need words, a single look was all they needed. After all, they've got to have learned something during the few weeks they were with Sakura.

Everything seems to melt in the background as they met each other halfway, with their blunt kunais clashing at each other. He threw a side kick towards the blonde, which he blocked. Naruto grabbed his hand that was holding the kunai, just as he grabbed the blonde's hand. They caught each other's wrist in a painful grip, both letting go of their kunai, making a dull clanging sound. Sasuke pulled his free hand back, clenching it in a tight fist, with Naruto doing the same thing. Time seemed to stand still as the two stared at each other, their fists pulled back.

Then, in a split second, before their fists connected with each other's face, a stoic Itachi and a chuckling Shisui were prying them away from each other. Well, Shisui was the one doing the prying. Itachi held one of their arms in a tight, yet not bruising grip.

"Sasuke, Naruto. That is enough."

"You've had your fun, kiddos."

* * *

Sasuke looked at his mother guiltily, his head hang low as he stared at the floor of their kitchen, even though Mikoto's back was facing them as she looked for her medicine kit. He peered at Naruto and their gazes met. Their head immediately snapped to the side, turning their gazes anywhere but each other. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. Sasuke scowled and glared at the kitchen walls. Behind them, Shisui was having a hard time controlling his chuckles as he looked at their faces, which sported a couple of bruises. Beside him, Itachi had a look of indifference, though, there was a glint in his eyes that told you that he was silently laughing.

Another look towards Sasuke's scowling, bruised face, and towards Naruto's also bruised half-pouting, half-glaring face, was more than what Shisui can take. He burst out laughing, snapping the four-year-olds' attention towards him. Even Itachi was smirking. Mikoto gave her nephew a pointed look, immediately silencing him. He raised his index and middle finger in a peace sign before grinning. Though, a few chuckles still escaped as he glanced at his cousin and at the young Uzumaki.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha matriarch tended to the children's bruises and wounds. All the while, gently reprimanding them both.

"Sasuke-chan, Naruto-chan, seems like you both got carried away, huh?" Both boys nodded guiltily.

"I know you both want to be shinobis in the future, but take it easy, will you? Look at you both, you look like you threw grapes at each other' face. What would Sakura-chan say when she saw you two?" Both flinched upon hearing Sakura's name. And Shisui's comment didn't help either.

"Well, she'd probably let her fist do the talking, then rant using her mouth, then her fist." The two flinched again before sharing one hard glare, then bowing and apologizing at her.

"I'm sorry, mother."

"Sorry, Mikoto-baa-chan, dattebayo." She smiled at the two and ruffled their hair.

"That's okay. Now, why don't you little ones wait at the dining table while I prepare you snacks?" Upon hearing this, they immediately perked up and raced towards the table. She chuckled and looked at Shisui and Itachi, the former, busy grinning widely at her.

"Why don't you two join them?"

"Thanks, baa-chan."

"Thank you, mother."

They were just about to head there when a messenger eagle perched at the window sill. Itachi took the small scroll tied to its claws and the bird immediately flew away. He opened the scroll and his eyes swiftly read through the message. He nodded towards Shisui who nodded back. He turned towards his mother, giving her a quick hug. Mikoto returned the embrace, understanding the situation.

"Well, thanks again, Mikoto-baa-chan. See ya." Mikoto smiled and nodded. "Take care." Both Itachi and Shisui nodded before disappearing. Mikoto heaved a quiet sigh before turning to the cupboards. She heard Naruto yell something to her son, followed by a "dattebayo". She raised a hand to her chest, suddenly feeling nostalgic. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

'Why do I feel that there's more to you than meets the eye, Naruto-chan? Every time I look at you, I feel like I'm looking at... Never mind.'

In her mind, she saw her younger self smiling with a young redhead, who was grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Sakura left and they still haven't heard from her. The boys were becoming anxious with each passing second. It didn't help that Naruto and Sasuke were constantly arguing, and without Sakura to keep them in line, both of them often return home with more than just a few scrapes and bruises.

Currently, Naruto and Sasuke, along with Itachi, were at the playground. Itachi had returned from his mission with Shisui yesterday, and fortunately, no mission has come for them yet. Since Shisui was, for once, off somewhere, Itachi took it upon himself to spend time with his younger brother and his, though, he begrudgingly admitted it, friend.

They had been at the playground for just a few minutes, and well, the two were already bored out of their minds. Naruto was at the swing, lazily swinging back and forth. Beside him, in the other swing, sat Sasuke who was scowling in boredom. He pushed at the ground harder, making him go higher. Naruto, who seemingly noticed this, also pushed harder, glaring at the younger Uchiha. Sasuke, not one to be outdone, pushed harder and narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

They glared at each other, an unspoken competition settled between them. They pushed harder and harder until they were almost flying from the force of the swing. Itachi watched with unmasked interest and amusement. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at their competitiveness. Uchihas don't roll their eyes. Well, except maybe for Shisui.

His eyebrow raised unnoticeable as he watch them go higher and higher, then, as if they've rehearsed it for many times, let go of the rope in unison, soaring through the air. Itachi tensed unnoticeably, ready to catch the two before they fall to the ground, only for them to flip mid-air. They did another flip at the same time before landing on the ground, crouching.

If Itachi was surprised, he didn't show it in his face. In his head, however, he was. Yes, he admits that he wasn't around his brother all the time, but, since when did he knew how to do that? And in sync with the Uzumaki too. Certainly, they had been doing this for some time now. He suspects that it has something to do with the young Haruno girl but he was snapped out of his musings before he could ponder on it more.

They were at it again.

"Ha! Take that, teme. I flipped better than you." Naruto declared proudly, grinning from ear to ear. Sasuke glared at the blonde, hard.

"Tch. In your dreams, dobe. You're not only a loser, you're getting blind too. Clearly, I was better than you. I did it more gracefully." He looked at the blonde smugly. Naruto gritted his teeth, his body shaking with anger. Sasuke, still onto riling up the blonde more, smirked at him widely.

They were busy with each other that they didn't notice an ANBU appear in front of the older Uchiha. They exchanged a few words before the ANBU disappeared. Itachi turned to them.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I will be taking my leave now. I am needed for a mission and I trust that you will be able to look after yourselves while I am absent. I will, however, send a note to mother to inform her of the situation." Sasuke turned to him, and was about to answer when Naruto spoke up. Well, more like yelled.

"What did you say?!" Sasuke, being himself, will not concede defeat, starting yet another verbal fight between two. Itachi resisted the urge to shake his head and gave a faint smile of amusement. He gave them a final glance before vanishing.

"Hmm, seems like you're deaf too. Go to the hospital, dobe. Maybe they can cure you, but then again, I don't think there's a cure for stupidity." Naruto, having enough, tried to tackle the dark-haired child. Keyword being tried.

Sasuke took a couple of steps back and watched as Naruto stumble into the ground. He chuckled and smirked at the blonde.

"You're getting slow too. Old age finally catching up with you?" Finally, Naruto had enough. He growled and stood up abruptly. Sasuke, probably sensing the change in Naruto's mood, had enough common sense to actually turn around and run away from the angry blonde.

Naruto chased him like his life depended on it while Sasuke was literally running for his life. It didn't take long before they somehow wounded up on the other side of the playground. With the two of them too occupied in the wild duck chase, they didn't notice something on the ground. Sasuke tripped over it, causing Naruto, who was hot on his tail, to stumble over the fallen Uchiha. The "something", which was actually a "someone," made an "oof" sound and grunted in pain.

The Uchiha let out a yelp as Naruto tumbled above him, who also yelped from the impact. The person beneath the two groaned in pain as his body was crushed by the people above him. Immediately, Naruto scrambled away from them, only for him to trip at someone's feet and land at the ground harshly. Sasuke tried to stand up, but was still caught in the other person's feet and he landed on Naruto ungracefully, who howled in pain. The person untangled his feet from Sasuke's and stood up.

He looked at the two who was still tangled in a mess of body and limbs and scratched his head lazily.

"Troublesome."

Naruto and Sasuke glared at the boy and untangled themselves from each other. The commotion attracted the attention of other people who were sitting at a table not far from them. The people made their way towards them, and from what the Uchiha could make out, the figure looked like three adult females along with two children. In matter of seconds, they reached the trio who looked like they had just brawled with each other.

The three woman looked at the three children. There was a blonde haired woman with pupil-less blue eyes. She had a fair complexion and a kind smile on her face. Beside her was a girl who looked like a mini version of the woman. She had a blush in her cheeks as she stared at them. Beside the girl was a, well, healthy looking woman with brown hair and fair skin. She had hazel colored eyes and was holding the hand of a chubby looking kid with pale skin. He had a red swirl on both of his cheeks and was munching on a potato chips. The last woman stepped forward towards the kid that they bumped. Her long black hair falling past her shoulder as she stared at the kid through dark eyes. Her pale face was twisted into a frown. She crossed her arms over her chest and the kid sighed.

"What did you do, Shikamaru?" The kid, Shikamaru, sighed at the woman that was probably his mother. "Troublesome, I didn't do anything." The woman raised an eyebrow and looked at Shikamaru threateningly.

"Seriously, mom. I didn't do anything. That's troublesome."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other before Sasuke spoke.

"Uhm, Ma'am. We're sorry. It was our fault. We were playing and I didn't noticed that he was laying on the ground and I tripped on him." Sasuke spoke. It was what Sakura would usually do when they did something they didn't mean to do but eventually did do. It would always work. So why not try it.

"Yeah, and then I bumped on te-I mean, Sasuke, and then we kinda got tangled up with each other. But we didn't mean it, dattebayo." Naruto looked at the women guiltily.

While Naruto was busy apologizing with the woman, he noticed the blonde girl looking at him with a red face. The girl turned even redder when their eyes met and she looked away. The woman who looked like her older version chuckled at her. He narrowed his eyes.

'I think I've seen them before.' He pondered on where on earth had he seen them, but was snapped out of his reverie when the Shikamaru's mother spoke.

"Oh, it's alright, dears. Shika's at fault too. He shouldn't be laying on the ground, watching clouds when he should be joining us." The woman looked at the boy pointedly.

"Troublesome." A vein popped in her forehead as she narrowed her eyes at him. She turned her attention to them and smiled kindly.

"Anyway, I am Nara Yoshino and this is my son Shikamaru." Shikamaru just gave them a lazy wave, looking ready to fall asleep any second. The other women stepped forward and stood beside her. The brown haired woman smiled, pulling the child beside her closer as she spoke.

"I'm Akimichi Hanami, this is my son Choji." Choji offered a shy smile and waved a little. The blonde haired woman grinned at them. Recognition flashing in her eyes.

"Hello, I'm Yamanaka Inora and this is Ino, my daughter." Ino smiled widely at them. She blushed when her eyes met Sasuke's and stuttered.

"H-hello."

"Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo." Naruto grinned widely at the women.

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke." He didn't offer any smile, still contemplating on where he had seen the blondes. A light bulb appeared beside his head and recognition flashed through his eyes.

"We have met before, if I remember correctly, Yamanaka-san." He spoke in a confident manner, making the Yamanaka smile. Ino inwardly squealed at how cool he was. Meanwhile, Naruto looked confused.

"Yes, it was when Sakura-chan left, if I remember correctly. Though, I believe we have neglected the introductions that time." Sasuke nodded, remembering seeing the woman and her daughter but paying her no mind because their attention was solely focused on making sure that Sakura remembered to return on time or else they would be dragging her back to Konoha. Naruto brightened, finally understanding.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that too. Didn't Shisui-tem―, uhh, Shisui spoke with you, Yamanaka-san?" Naruto fumbled with the name he usually calls the curly-haired Uchiha.

"Oh, it seems we're missing something here." Hanami said, looking between the Yamanakas, and the Uchiha and Uzumaki.

"So it seems." Yoshino said with a smirk, quickly putting two and two together. "Would you like to join us in our picnic, Sasuke and Naruto?" Before Naruto could yell his agreement, Sasuke cut him off.

"We apologize, Nara-san, but we should be going now. Aniki just left for a mission while he was with us earlier, and we need to return home to inform Mother. And we don't want to impose." Sasuke answered maturely. Meanwhile, Naruto was just getting over the fact that he didn't noticed that Itachi was already gone.

"B-but, you're not imposing!" Ino blurted, only for her to blush when Sasuke looked at her. "I-I mean, you can join us, you're not imposing or anything." The adults looked at the Yamanaka heiress in amusement. Sasuke just raised his brow.

"Teme, what are you doing? Why are you not agreeing? Just a few minutes then we can go." Naruto whispered at the young Uchiha.

"No, dobe. Mother needs to know."

"But didn't Itachi said that he'll send a note?"

"I thought you were not listening?"

"Well, I heard bits, but I didn't hear the part where he said he'll leave."

"Tch, dobe. Do you really need to wait for someone to fetch us before we return?"

"But teme, don't you think we're being rude? I mean, they are offering us to join them."

"Uh huh, and knowing Mother, she'll probably send Shisui to fetch us."

Naruto stilled and Sasuke smirked.

'Bull's eye.'

The adults are looking at them amusedly while Ino and Choji are confused. Shikamaru was already dozing off on the ground, not a care in his surroundings.

"Uhh, Sasuke's right, Nara-san. Mikoto-baa-chan's probably worried about us 'cause Itachi left so we really need to go. We wouldn't want her to tire herself just so she can get someone to get us, no, we wouldn't want that, 'cause Mikoto-baa-chan is already busy and all, so she doesn't need to send someone just to get us." Sasuke's eye twitched as Naruto started to ramble.

"We wouldn't want to bother her like that, even though Sasuke's her son and all. You know, and we wouldn't want her to send Shis―" Having enough, the Uchiha raised his hand, covering the blonde's mouth with his hand.

"That's enough. They get your point, you're already rambling." Naruto, just to ruffle up his friend's feathers, licked the hand covering his mouth, which the ravenette immediately released with a disgusted look on his face. He wiped his hand on the blonde's clothes before turning his attention to the people in front of them.

"Well, if you insist. Next time then?" The older Akimichi suggested. Both boys nodded, before promptly running off back to the direction they went to. The women chuckled, before ushering their children back to their picnic. Yoshino, having woken her son up from his slumber through a pinch to the sides.

"Ino-chan?" Inora called to her daughter when she noticed her dazed state.

"Mom, I know I said this before, but..." She pouted at her mother. "I can't believe Sakura-chan didn't introduce me to her new friends. Especially Sasuke-kun." The women shared a chuckle before smirking at the young girl. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went back to sleep whilst Choji paid them no mind as he munch on a muffin.

"Do you..." Yoshino started.

"Wanna know..." Hanami continued.

"How to get his attention?" Inora finished.

Ino grinned at her mother and aunts, nodding her head vigorously.

* * *

Sasuke watched as Naruto jumped up and down excitedly. While annoyed at the blonde who can't seem to stay still for a second, he himself was very excited. Not that he would tell that to anyone. Even Shisui, who had arrived at the Main House to fetch Itachi for training, became excited when he heard the news. Only his Mother, Father, and Aniki seemed to be calm. But they had been waiting for forever for this, why would they be calm about this?

Apparently, the letter that Sakura sent had finally arrived. Well letters actually, there were six of them. One for each of them, namely, Naruto, Sasuke, Shisui, Ino, the blonde girl that Sakura was friends with, and some other people obviously. Mikoto took her sweet time to give them the letters, giving the first one to Naruto, making the blonde grin and her son to frown. The frown turned into a small grin when she handed him his letter. Giving Shisui his when it looked like he was about to whine, she chuckled at their expressions.

She took the last three scrolls and looked at the names. One was addressed to them, namely, her, Fugaku, and Itachi, the other one was to a Yamanaka Ino, while the last one was to someone named Tenten. The Uchiha Matriarch frowned at the unknown name. How are they supposed to give this letter to this person when they don't even know their whereabouts? She shook her head lightly.

'Sasuke-chan and Naruto-chan must know this Tenten if Sakura-chan sent this letter with ours.'

Meanwhile, Naruto, more excited than ever, almost ripped the letter he was holding. He opened it immediately, excited at reading the contents. He grinned to himself, it was a good thing that Sakura-chan taught him how to read, or he won't be able to understand any of the characters written in the letter. His eyes mirrored his excitement as he read the letter.

_Dear Naruto,_

_Hey there! Sorry that it took so long for the letters to come, I had been a bit busy. How are you guys? I hope you and Sasuke aren't fighting too much. Don't give Mikoto-san too much trouble with your quarrels, okay? Anyway, we just arrived yesterday and you wouldn't believe it, it was so cold in here. I had to wear a jacket in the middle of summer. Everything was covered in mist, you almost can't see anything. Well, they wouldn't call it the Village Hidden in the Mist if it wasn't covered in mist, right? We arrived at night time so we didn't roam around._

_My grandfather sent two people to fetch us at the docks, and they bowed at my parents. I thought that they were guards or something but my parents seemed to know them. On the way to my mother's family house, we had to stop a lot because the people who are still out on the streets are bowing to them. It was really weird, you know. Then, when we were almost there, I sensed many chakra signatures and I thought that they were enemies because, you know, being in another village and all, but I was surprised when my parents greeted a man who actually turned out to be my uncle because he was my mother's older brother. Then he led us to a huge compound like Sasuke's. I was very surprised because I thought that my mother only had a family house here, so I thought that maybe her parents were very rich or something. We met my grandfather very briefly because I was getting sleepy and all. At first he was very emotionless like Fugaku-san when we first came to Sasuke's. But then he was grinning like dad so I thought that he was dad's father, but then I remember that dad was from Fire Country so he was probably mom's father. I was right because he said that he was mom's father. Sadly, we had to retire for the night because the sleep really is getting into me._

_Early this morning, I snuck out of my room and went outside. I went into the village early, I wouldn't want mom and dad to worry that I was missing so I had to be quick. They were taking so long to wake up and I want to roam already so I did. The village looked like Konoha, only, a lot more gloomy. There were several people who looked like they were sleeping on the streets. I roamed around some more then I saw another kid sleeping beside the trash bags. He was shivering, Naruto. He looks older than us by a year or so, but he was all alone, sleeping beside the trash bags. So, I took my jacket off and covered him with it, I didn't have a blanket with me so that'll have to do. I also gave him a few money that I took with me. Then I went home immediately before my parents noticed that I was missing. I went back to bed after that._

_When I woke up again, earlier this day, it was almost noon. And there was a stranger in my room. He turned out to be my cousin, Enjo-san. I only realized it now, but I have acted very childishly during the time I was with him. I even walked out when we were having a meal. I felt guilty, so I decided to apologize to him the next time I saw him. Anyway, when I met my grandfather again this afternoon, I learned that he was a clan head. Turns out, my mother came from a ninja clan in the Mist, the Fuyuno Clan, and that since my uncle had no children, and I am the only child of my mother, I was the immediate heir of the clan. To be honest, I didn't know what to feel. After all, all this time, I thought I was just a second-generation shinobi, well, shinobi-in-training, but you know what I mean._

_After that, my mother took me back to my room, and here I am, writing letters to you guys. Sorry, I was just probably ranting in here, but, I missed you so much guys. I feel like six months is such a long time away from you. I promise to send letters as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing from you. Love you, guys._

_Love,_

_Sakura_

_PS: I promise to see if they have ramen here, Naruto. If so, I'll make sure to bring back lots and lots for you when we return. With all of the flavours available so you can choose from them._

Naruto grinned from ear to ear as he jumped up and down.

"Sakura-chan promised to bring me back ramen from the Mist! Man, now I really wish that she would return extra early."

"Shut up, dobe." An irritated Sasuke glared at the beaming blonde. Apparently, he had just finished reading his letter, and while he was pleased to know that Sakura was fine, and was doing excellent, he was not so pleased at his blonde friend for being so loud at reading his letter. Did he even know the word privacy?

"She said so many things in her letter and ramen is all you can think about?" Naruto stuck his tongue at him. From beside Itachi, Shisui was chuckling. While he still haven't read his letter, he already have a general idea of what Sakura would be telling him, with the Uzumaki being a loud reader and all.

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Fugaku were looking at each other silently, with Itachi narrowing his eyes unnoticeably. Shisui noticed his uncle and aunt's gaze at each other and sighed. All the while, Sasuke and Naruto were oblivious of the adults' and older children's gazes. Finally, Mikoto looked away from her husband and turned to the bickering children.

"So, do you, children, happen to know who Yamanaka Ino is, and who Tenten is?" Their attention turned to her and Naruto nodded.

"We know Yamanaka Ino, baa-chan." She smiled and turned to Sasuke.

"We do. But, we have no idea who Tenten is." She had a contemplating look on her face. She turned to the older children in the room. "Do any of you know who Tenten is?"

"There are many people who are named Tenten in Konoha, Mother. Perhaps, Yamanaka-san might be acquainted with this person." Itachi spoke evenly whilst Shisui nodded sagely.

"Very well said cousin." Mikoto chuckled, Sasuke and Naruto rolled their eyes while Fugaku and Itachi resisted the urge to.

"We can take it to her, baa-chan." Naruto offered, looking at her. He turned to Sasuke and smiled mischievously. "Right, teme?" Sasuke glared at him.

"You can do it yourself, dobe." Naruto deflated. "But, she's Sakura-chan's friend too. Don't you think Sakura-chan will be disappointed when she finds out that Ino didn't get her letter?" Sasuke glared harder.

"Fine." Naruto cheered and took the letters from Mikoto. Fugaku cleared his throat and stood up.

"Shisui, accompany them. Itachi, meet me by the lake."

"Yes, Father."

"Sure, Uncle. Let's go, kiddos." He ushered them towards the door, waving goodbye to the remaining Uchihas in the room, with Naruto, yelling a loud 'see you later', and Sasuke, saying a quick 'goodbye'.

With that, Fugaku excused himself leaving Itachi and Mikoto in the room.

* * *

Shisui, assuming that Naruto and Sasuke doesn't know where the Yamanaka's live, took it upon himself to lead them there, and was grinning to himself. Beside him, Sasuke was scowling and Naruto was grinning.

"So, Shisui-teme, where are we going?" Shisui turned to the young blonde, his hands behind his head in a carefree manner.

"Well, assuming that you two don't know their address, which I'm pretty sure you really don't know, I'm taking you there." He smirked at them receiving a glare in return.

"This is your idea, dobe. You're giving that to her."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that she would love it if you gave it to her, teme."

"What's up with her, anyway? She like you or anything, little cousin?" Shisui's grin turned mischievous. Sasuke scowled at him, then glared at the blonde.

"She does, she blushes every time she sees teme, like two weeks ago, then a week ago." Naruto bumped the Uchiha lightly on the shoulder, making him scowl harder.

"Barely four years old and already a heartthrob, eh? Don't worry cousin, I feel you." A disbelieving stare was sent his way followed by a death glare. He chuckled at himself before stopping in front of a building.

"What are we doing in a flower shop, Shisui?" Sasuke frowned, having a bad feeling about this.

"The Yamanaka's are not only famous for their clan techniques, but also for their family businesses, namely, flower arrangements. This is the Clan Head's shop. Yamanaka Ino is their heiress."

Naruto's mouth turned into an 'o' shape whilst Sasuke simply stared, obviously unimpressed. Shisui entered the shop, followed by the two boys. The bell rang, signaling their arrival, and were immediately greeted with the scent of fresh flowers. Shisui grinned and made his way to the counter. The door in the backroom opened revealing one Yamanaka Inora.

The Yamanaka Matriarch smiled at them, her long blonde hair tied in a neat bun. She was wearing a white apron in front of her light blue dress, complementing her fair skin and sapphire eyes.

"Hello, Uchiha-san, Naruto, Sasuke, how may I help you?"

"Is your daughter around, Yamanaka-san?" Shisui asked, smiling politely at the woman. She looked surprised for a second before smiling mischievously at the younger Uchiha. Naruto and Shisui suppressed a giggle making Sasuke scowl.

"Why yes, let me just call her, she's in the back." She made her way to the backroom, entering the door, emerging a few seconds later with a blushing Ino.

"Here she is. Now, I have some flowers that needs repotting in the back, call me when you need anything." She winked at her daughter before smiling at the boys, making her way to the backroom gracefully. All attention turned to the sole female and Ino gathered all the confidence she had before speaking.

"You wanted to see me?" She spoke with confidence, her blush no longer visible. Naruto nudged Sasuke, earning a glare. He gave the letters to him before stepping back with Shisui.

"Sakura sent letters. She gave one for you and to a person named Tenten. Do you know where this person is?" Shisui face palmed at his younger cousin's rudeness, Naruto deadpanned at the younger Uchiha's back.

"Oh, yeah. Tenten-chan often plays with us. Sakura-chan introduced us to each other before. If you want, I can show you where she lives." Ino was not bothered by his rudeness at all. She smiled sweetly at him making Sasuke look at her with a deadpanned expression.

"Lead the way then, Ino-san." Naruto grinned at her. Ino seemed to be surprise to see him, but smiled back nonetheless. If Sakura-chan was friends with him, then maybe he wasn't so bad. After all, Sakura-chan's decisions were never wrong.

"I'll just go and tell my mom." She went to the back emerging a minute later. "Let's go. And just call me Ino, no need to be so formal." She smiled at them. She led the trio through the busy part of the village, the marketplace.

"So, how did you met Sakura-chan, Ino?" Naruto asked her.

"Well, it wasn't that long ago when I met her. It was March that time, just after her birthday. She was always bullied because she had a high forehead, and pink hair. She would always wear her bangs down, they teased her more because of it. One day, I saw her crying under a Cherry Blossom tree, her namesake. I don't know why, but I approached her. I told her that she really had a large forehead, she cried harder. Then I told her that she shouldn't wear her bangs like that 'cause that will only show them that she cared, that they will bully her more because of it. I gave her my red ribbon, and tied her hair with it. Well, we became friends since then." She looked at them and smiled softly.

"Wow, so Sakura-chan wasn't always that strong?" Naruto looked at her contemplatively.

"Dobe, it doesn't take someone just more or less three months to be that strong, emotionally or physically." Sasuke answered him in his 'in a matter-of-fact' tone. Naruto frowned.

"To be honest, I don't think Sakura was really affected by those bullies." Ino said, her forehead creasing.

"What do you mean?" Naruto was really confused. She just said that Sakura-chan was crying because of the bullies and now she was taking it back?

"Well, about three weeks later, I heard that Ami was bullying her again, I was worried, but then, I found out that she scared Ami so bad that she flinch every time she sees her and avoids her all the time. When I asked her what she did to her, she just smiled at me and said that Ami got what she deserves and that enough was enough." Ino heaved a sigh.

"I guess, from the start, she wasn't really affected at all. I guess she just wants to fit in, but was bullied instead. So, when she finally had enough, I guess she stopped trying to fit in and showed who she really was. Either way, she did the right thing and stood up for herself. Besides, she's still my best friend, she'll tell me when she's ready. Or something like that."

"So you've known her for three months already?" Ino sweat dropped while Sasuke gave him a deadpanned stare.

"Really, dobe?"

"Shut up, teme."

"Well, yes. How about you guys?"

"Two months. We met on April." Sasuke replied curtly.

"Oh."

They passed a few more blocks before they stopped at a weapon shop. Naruto and Sasuke learned not to question when they were with Shisui so they kept quiet as they entered the shop. Speaking of which... They shared a look with each other before looking behind them. No Shisui.

"That bastard."

"Irresponsible."

Sasuke and Naruto followed Ino to the counter where they were greeted by a brown haired woman with honey-coloured eyes and fair skin.

"Hello, Yukino-san, this is Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura-chan's friends. Boys, this is Yukino-san, Tenten-chan's mom." Naruto grinned while Sasuke had a look of indifference.

"Hello, boys."

"Is Tenten-chan here? Sakura-chan sent a letter." Ino inquired. The woman nodded before calling to her daughter.

"Tenten, Ino's here. Sakura sent a letter." A few footsteps can be heard before the backdoor opened. A girl with brown eyes and fair skin appeared, her brown hair tied in a twin buns. She smiled upon seeing Ino.

"Hey, Ino."

"Hi, Sakura-chan sent you a letter."

"Really? Finally, I didn't get to see her leave, we were out of the village ourselves when she left. We went to a nearby village for a business trip."

"Oh, well, this is Naruto." She gestured to the blonde who waved and grinned. "And Sasuke." The Uchiha grunted.

"This is Tenten-chan."

"Hi guys."

"They are also Sakura-chan's friends."

"Great. Have you read your letters yet?"

"I have." Naruto and Sasuke answered in unison. They glared at each other.

"Well, since the letter is now delivered, we must go. We have to find someone." Sasuke turned to leave.

"Yeah, that bastard. Bye." Naruto waved goodbye before following the Uchiha. Tenten turned to Ino.

"That was weird." Ino can only shrug.

* * *

Sakura sealed the last of the letters and sighed. She just realized that she forgot to introduce Ino and Tenten with her boys.

**'Well, you also forgot to introduce the boys to the other boys. Oh, and maybe you should've warned Ino that she'll be sharing her letter with Choji and the lazy-ass?'**

'Damn. Why do we seem to forget things more and more?'

**'Don't ask me, how should I know? I'm just inside your head.'**

'Exactly.'

**'Whatever.'** Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes at her alter ego. Just then, her mother entered the room. Gathering the letters in her hand, she gave them to her.

"There's still time, do you want to roam around the village?"

**'Finally.'** Mentally rolling her eyes, she nodded at her mother.

"Yup, I promised Naruto that I will see if they have ramen here so I can bring back lots and lots for him. Oh, and some spices for Mikoto-san too." She beamed at her mother.

'Well, looks like she's okay now. My baby's growing up so fast.' Mebuki sighed fondly before smiling at her daughter.

"Go get your jacket, Sacchan. It's cold outside." Sakura grinned as she rummaged through her things. Finally, she found a comfy red jacket with thick fur at its neckline. Quickly slipping it on, she zipped the zipper before turning to her mother.

They made their way towards the village. They were often greeted by their fellow clansmen, whom they greeted back. When they arrived at the village's marketplace, her mother showed her to different stalls. Sakura marveled at the different products, along with the different foods, snacks, delicacies, and spices. Sadly, there was no ramen to be found. Sighing dejectedly, Sakura pouted lightly.

"Mommy, there's no ramen here?" Mebuki chuckled.

"I guess so, but perhaps we can interest Naruto-kun with something else?" Sakura grinned.

"Yes, but can we do that later, we have six months after all. I want to see the training grounds." The stars in her eyes were undeniably visible as she grinned.

"Alright, alright. Though, we'll steer clear of those that are occupied. Shinobis in Kiri are known to have... destructive water techniques. And they hold no restrictions in the destruction's vicinity." Her mother warned her. Sakura nodded.

'Well, meeting them will have to wait. Mother is persistent when it came to our wellbeing.'

**'Aww, that's too bad. I wanna see Fishy's face when we wipe his scally ass in the ground.'**

'We are not going to 'wipe his scally ass in the ground', Inner. We need him.'

**'Whatever. What harm can a single match do?'**

'Do you really need me to answer that?'

**'Hmmp.'**

'Thought so.'

Since her mother was very keen on avoiding occupied training grounds, the only thing that Sakura was looking forward to was well, nothing really. Since all the possible actions had been, somehow, more or less, taken away by her mother. So, all in all, the trip to the training grounds had been pretty boring. They were kind of similar to those in Konoha, and apart from the mist that covers them, and the constant ponds or small lake here and there, there was no difference, really.

Later, that night, Sakura reflected on everything that had transpired that day.

She admit that she had been too immersed on the thought of being like a normal four-year-old, that she acted like one (except, well, she was not a normal four-year-old, she's not even four, she's a seventeen-year-old jounin stuck in her four-year-old body). Too much like one. She had been very childish, though, even when she was seventeen, there were times that she acted by her childish tendencies. She sighed and turned in her bed.

Another one is that, she had been giving the sudden appearance of her mother's immediate family too much thought. She should just be grateful that she had met her relatives, right? After all, while she thought that she had been clanless all those time, and a just a few hours before now, she had gained all of her strengths through hardwork and determination, and not because of some hidden bloodline, (if there was any at all though) right? She turned and laid on her back.

If she wanted to succeed in this, in giving her team a better life, in trying to stop the Akatsuki, and eventually, (hopefully,) the Fourth Shinobi World War, then she needs to get on with it, stop being such a worrywart and a crybaby, and take them head on. Well, maybe not head on, but this time, she needs to be serious. Really, really serious.

There can be no distractions. No distractions at all.

She fell asleep almost immediately.

In her mind, she dreamt of the Rabbit Goddess wielding the blade that she had almost forgotten, raising it in the air as black fire consumed everything, except that the Goddess had pink hair instead of silver, and emerald eyes instead of moon white.

In the morning, Sakura would have forgotten about it. But Inner Sakura.

Inner Sakura would remember. She always will.

* * *

**Just to clear any confusion, if there's any, in this verse, it's currently in the middle of June, and I think it's summer in Japan at that month. I'm not so sure though, so you can correct me if I'm wrong. Also, sorry for not updating for more than a month. school's been a (excuse my language) huge bitch and a very painful pain in my ass. Updates, while slow as it is, will probably slow down even more. I'm sorry for that, but finding time for writing while balancing it with the even more hassle school works, what with us using modules instead of the actual classes. Anyways, enough about me, tell me what you guys think, and what's with all the difference? XD. Welp, see you guys again when I update. Lots of love!**

**(edited: 11/07/2020) Well, turns out, there was just a glitch in the system, and not preventing me from posting other stories. *sweatdrop***

**Anyways, advertising again, check out my new drabble series, Moments, featuring SakuraxNaruto characters. Rating will range from K to T, uhh, no M, sorry. I have no idea how to write M rated fics, but hopefully, in the future, I will be able to produce some acceptable That said, thanks fo stopping by, and please tell me what you guys think in the reviews! Thank you!**


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